The Demon's Labyrinth
by kairi's friend
Summary: Bill has been watching Gravity Falls for years, waiting for the twins to return and cross through the portal to reclaim their throne. One day, they finally come...but now Bill's not so sure he wants to help them. Will Dipper and Mabel survive the trials ahead and reclaim their throne?
1. Prologue

A long time ago, all the many realms were connected and guarded by the Kingdom, and in the Kingdom there lived twins, a Prince and Princess, destined to follow their parents' footsteps. They were bright and curious about the universe around them, and every day they would explore new places and learn new things. Their parents said they could cross over into any realm.

But they were told to stay away from the portal at the South Gate.

For a long time, the twins kept away from the South Gate - but one day, the portal flashed a bright blue, and they no longer could contain their curiosity. They snuck out of the palace and crossed through the portal. They saw people on the other side, who claimed to open the portal for scientific reasons to benefit mankind - but one of them attacked the twins. Before he could finish them off, someone from the Kingdom - a protector - emerged from the portal, and a short battle ensued, giving the twins enough time to cross back through the portal. They didn't cross back alone, however, as two people followed them through, one of them being the attacker. The twins fled into the labyrinth in the garden, but the bad man pursued them, demanding to know about the secrets of the universe and gain power.

He cornered the twins at the very center of the labyrinth, and he attacked them once more. The protector raced to help the twins, but there was no hope of saving them. In rage, the protector summoned his greatest powers, used them to defeat the bad man once and for all. The power surge almost crossed the portal, causing an apocalypse on the other side, but the King and Queen closed the portal after throwing the second intruder into the dungeon. The King and Queen grieved at the loss of their children, but the protector revealed he placed an enchantment on them right before they died: he assured them that the souls of the Prince and Princess would return one day - perhaps in a different time, a different place, a different form, but the twins would return and claim their throne.

The King and Queen ordered the protector to watch over the portal's town, to make sure no one but the twins would cross over. For decades he watched the town, waiting and waiting, slowly slipping into madness. People in this world kept trying to cross the portal, trying to uncover the greatest secrets of the universe. He foiled them all, wondering when the royal twins would ever show up.

In the summer of 2012, they finally did.

**A/N: This story is adopted from "The Demon's Lullaby" by Sapphire Teardrops. I had an idea where the story could go, so here it is! I'm sticking with the concept of the original story, so this will follow a _Pan's Labyrinth _kind of arc. But I'm also using episodes from the show, showing how I think the series could go. Hope you guys like it!  
**

**For the portal-gate, picture Stargate.**


	2. The Arrival

"Dipper? Dipper!"

The brown-haired boy keeps his eyes shut as he swats the air in his sister's direction. "Not now, Mabel," he groans, shifting in his seat on the coach bus.

"C'mon, bro bro," Mabel says. "You're missing this!" He imagines her face pressed against the back window, her brown eyes wide. "Check out all these trees! I've never seen so many at once!"

Dipper ignores her, trying to catch some more ZZZs. He feels his cheek slide an inch down the window he's using as a pillow, his hat lifting an inch off his head. The noise blurs to nothingness, his breathing slows...finally, he can get more sleep, see more of that strange dream...

His eyes shoot open when something digs into his armpits. "M-Mabel, stop!" he says, cracking a grin and giggling.

"Time to wake up, sleepyhead!" Mabel says, almost laying on top of her brother as she tickles him awake.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Mabel sits back in her seat, smirking at her brother. He straightens in his seat and readjusts his brown hat. "How long until we're there?"

Shrug. "Maybe ten minutes."

"That long? You could've let me sleep longer!" He gives her a teasing glare. "You woke me up from my dream!"

"Ooh, did it have fairy princesses in it?" His sister beams, flashing her silver braces.

Dipper stares at her. "Why would my dream have fairy princesses?"

Another shrug.

He looks over the top of the seat in front of him - but just like when they got on the bus at Piedmont, they are the only two passengers. Nevertheless, when he sits back down, he beckons his sister closer and says in a lower voice, "I dreamed of that maze again."

Mabel's smile vanishes. Ever since they were really little, the twins have had a recurring dream of being lost in a dark, tall maze. They never told anyone else about it, not even their parents. "Anything new?"

"I think there was a shadowy guy following me, but you woke me up before I could see any more."

"Sorry."

The twins fall silent, each one thinking about the mysterious maze. Lately, they've been having this dream more and more, but other than small things - like the shadow figure this time, or the triangle from last week - nothing changes. Just the same dark pathways, midnight sky, and looming sense of danger.

"Next stop," the bus driver says over the speaker, "Gravity Falls."

Mabel and Dipper press their faces to the back window, watching the pine trees turn into buildings as they enter the sleepy Oregon town. Mabel then suggests playing What's Under the Seat, which Dipper halfheartedly agrees to play. In no time at all, they arrive at the bus station. They grab their suitcases and make their way from the very back of the bus to the front door. Dipper carefully steps down the stairs, but Mabel has a spring in her step as she descends. Both of them look up to see a wrinkly, old man in a black suit, glasses, and red fez smiling at them.

"Hey, kiddos!" their great-uncle Stan says, throwing his arms wide out. "Welcome to Gravity Falls."

* * *

_A few days later..._

Something just happened. He can feel it in his very being.

He blinks, and his vision changes to show him Gravity Falls. Specifically the forest behind the Mystery Shack. He doesn't care for the shack at all - in fact, that's where the intruders came from. He sinks a couple inches at the memory: he remembers having to fight the bad man to protect the royal family, he'd rather not have to do it again with someone else.

But the shack isn't what catches his eye. It's the boy, one of the twins from the bus. He's looking through something...the journal! But how? The third one was hidden in a place with an enchantment so only the reincarnated twins could find it. There was nothing he could do to keep Crescent Claw from getting the first journal, and he had no way of getting to Journal #2 before Pentagram , so he did what he could to protect the last journal. And now, some boy's reading from it.

"Hello!" says the female twin, popping up behind a fallen tree, startling her brother. "Whatcha readin', some nerd thing?"

_Well, it kinda is_, he thinks with a chuckle.

The boy stammers before saying, "It's nothing."

The girl imitates the boy, then laughs. "Are you actually not gonna tell me?"

Gompers, the goat, then comes up and starts nibbling on the journal.

_Wait a minute_, he thinks. _That goat only appears when there's something big going on. Either there's something supernatural going on I'm not aware of, or fate led those twins here._ He squints at the twins, gets a better look at them. His eye widens. "It can't be!" he hisses aloud. He blinks again, and his vision reverts back to the two empty thrones in front of him. He turns around, hands clasped in front of him. He thinks back to thirty years ago, to that one fateful day, images flashing on his triangular body as he recalls the events. The royal twins were dying; he cast a spell on them so they could come back someday, somehow. He also wiped their memories so they wouldn't remember the pain or suffering they went through. The twins in the forest are slightly paler than the royal twins - other than that, they could be identical. What if these two - "Dipper" and "Mabel," as they're called - are the ones he's been waiting for?

He blinks, and his body reverts back to its glowing yellow form. Hands behind his back, he paces back and forth through the air. _These two better be the twins I've been waiting for_, he thinks. _The portal's supposed to open again this summer, and I can't mess this up._


	3. Pentagram's Deal

**A/N: Starting this chapter, I'll be intertwining the show into the story. Hope you guys like it!**

**Bill's POV**

"_Triangulum, entangulum..._"

Looks like someone's summoning me again. I adjust my top hat and cross into Gravity Falls through a mini-portal of my own. This time, I do it slowly, more dramatically, even adding a mysterious cackle before finally popping through. Hey, I need to have fun with my job every now and then!

I glance at the black-and-white landscape around me, filled with a sense of nostalgia. "Oh, oh, Gravity Falls!" I cry. "It is good to be back!" I float down to the pale chubby boy and circle him, saying, "The name's Bill Cipher, and I take it your some kind of living ventriloquist dummy?" I chuckle at my own joke. "I'm just kidding, I know who you are, Gideon."

The boy's eyes widen, a bead of sweat forming at his brow. "Wh-who are you? H-How do you know my name?" he asks.

I wish I can smirk at the pudgy boy as I say, "Oh, I know lots of things." I show several images on my body to prove my point - and also, to creep out the little creep. Ha!

In my peripheral vision I see Shooting Star hiding behind a bush with Question Mark. I remember the royal twins used to love it when I did tricks, so just for her, I say, "Hey, look what I can do." I spot a deer nearby, and with one gesture, I yank its teeth out, summoning them into my hand. "Deer teeth, for you, kid!" I laugh as I dump them into Pentagram's hands.

He shrieks and drops them. "You're insane!"

"Sure I am, what's your point?" I replace the deer's teeth, and it runs away. I hope Shooting Star appreciated me messing around with Pentagram, considering how much she doesn't like him. Still, it's not quite the same doing tricks to other people. I miss making the twins shriek with delight and beg me to use my powers again.

Gideon stutters for a moment before finally spitting, "Listen here, demon! I have a job for you: I need you to enter the mind of Stanford Pines and steal the code to his safe!"

_Yeah, sure_, I think, laughing at the thought of being an errand-runner. "Wait!" I blurt out, the full demand registering in my head. I turn around and mumble, "Stan Pines..." How do I know that name? Two images flash on my body as I remember that night thirty years ago: an older man, and an alchemy symbol.

The same symbol on the prisoner in the dungeon in the Kingdom.

My eye widens, and my body turns yellow again. "You know what, kid? You've convinced me," I say, turning around, hands behind my back. "I'm sold! I'll help you with this and in return you can help me with something I've been working on. We'll work out the details later." I keep quiet about the Ten Symbols prophecy, and I also don't tell Pentagram what exactly he'd be helping me with. Why spoil the surprise?

We shake hands with blue fire. The deal is made. "Well," I chirp, "time to go invade Stan's mind. This should be fun!" As I depart, I leave a message for Shooting Star: "Remember, reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold! Bye!" In a flash of light, I return home.

"Oh, this is wonderful!" I can't help but say aloud, throwing my hands in the air. "That Gideon sure is dumb!" I cackle as I picture what the runt's pig face will look like when he realizes just what he helped me out with. And to think I was hired to help that dummy in his quest for ultimate knowledge. Ha!

I stop laughing when I remember the King and Queen. They told me to be on the lookout for their children's souls, to return them as soon as I found them. But why should I? Those twins were the only royals in the entire Kingdom I ever got along with. When those kids go home, they'll be taught to be the next rulers. They'll know every single thing about the universe.

Even the few secrets that I don't know.

Hey, I know lots of things, but I don't know everything. And considering I've been working for the Kingdom for a few hundred years, you'd think they'd let me in on some of the juicy stuff. But nope. I'm just the guy in charge of watching over all the realms. I'm just the guy who's supposed to keep an entire War of the Worlds from happening. Why, the King and Queen are lucky to have someone like me on their side! They should really start paying me. No, really, they don't pay me at all.

It was part of the deal we made: I would work as a protector for the Kingdom, and they would let me reside on palace grounds. Okay, so it's not that bad, but still. The only fun I get is when I play mischievous pranks on people while I work.

Still, I don't want Pine Tree and Shooting Star to end up like their parents. Those twins are the only fun ones around.

I tap the space below my eye since I don't have a chin. Maybe I could convince the kids somehow to find out the huge, all-important secrets of the universe for me. Yeah, that might work. Maybe I'll finally learn something about who caused the apocalypse on my world.

But I'll still need Pentagram to help me. It won't matter if the twins help me out or not if the apocalypse comes here, too.


	4. Memory Maze

**A/N: I'm glad you guys like the story so far! :)**

**Bill's POV**

I slip out of the Kingdom. Time to go to work! I cross into Gravity Falls and zoom through the town. Hey, there's those red robe freaks that call themselves the Blind Eye. Ha! What a stupid name!

I'd really like to stay and watch them drag Tyler away from the bikers' bar, but I'm more excited about invading Stan's mind. Truth be told, I'm more excited about using the twins to help me invade Stan's mind. C'mon, you readers don't seriously think I don't expect them to follow me. First off, how many snappy, talking triangles do you know? Right, none. How could the kids not want to learn any more about me?

Second, they're the royal twins. They're the most curious kids I know. When something piques their interest, you can bet they will follow that thing through. I'm sure you know about all of Shooting Star's boy crushes and Pine Tree's obsession with figuring out the supernatural. You know what I mean.

And third, they actually care about that smelly uncle - er, grunkle. Whether Gideon summoned me or someone else to invade Stan's mind, those two will be the ones to go into Stan's mind to protect him. Why they would bother with someone like Crescent Claw, I have no idea. Don't they know what he and his brother almost did?

Oh, wait, they wouldn't. I erased their memories when they died - but only so they wouldn't have to remember all the bad stuff that had happened to them! See, I'm not that bad of a guy, so don't give me that doubtful look. Yeah, I'm talkin' to _**you,**_ pal, in the tacky shirt!

Anyway, I'm here at the shack now, and I'm inside the living room. Crescent Claw is snoring in his arm chair, and Pine Tree is sweeping the carpet. Wait, sweeping the carpet? I understand if the floor was wood, but what weirdo makes a kid sweep a fluffy rug?! And they call _me_ insane!

"Ah, oh, no...sorry," Stan says aloud, moving in his sleep.

I laugh out loud, since no one can hear me. Look at Pine Tree's face! Hahaha! I wish I had a camera!

Shooting Star and Question Mark enter the room, the fat one eating a bunch of...what are those? Burrito Bites? Eesh, that guy can eat. Then Pine Tree is kind enough to read about the entry in the journal about me: "The most powerful and dangerous creature I ever encountered." Aw, wasn't that nice?

Anyway, now that the gang's all here, time to start the fun. I lower myself into Stan's mind, and everything shines bright for a moment before turning into his black-and-white mindscape. I'm tempted to explore his worst fears, see if I can mess around with the guy more...but I should probably wait for the twins and that man-baby. Besides, I'm mischievous, not evil.

Another light flashes farther away, and the kids finally arrive. I pull out my cane and swing it around as the three admire the creepiness of Stan's mind.

I can hear the fat one saying, "Huh, figured there'd be a lot more hot old ladies." Of course you'd think there'd be ladies here, you creep!

"Remember," Shooting Star says, "we've got to look out for the triangle guy."

"Yeah," I repeat, floating down behind them, "look out for the triangle guy!"

"It's him," says the fatso. "It's the guy!"

Shooting Star glares and says, "You leave our uncle's brain alone, you isosceles monster!"

Isosceles monster? Really? When she charges at me, I just let her jump through me. I check my watch, and sure enough, two seconds later out she comes, rolling on the ground. "Gotcha! Wait, what?" She stares at me in surprise. Huh, guess she doesn't remember that trick.

"Ah, Stan's family," I say, a bit upset the twins are even a part of Crescent Claw's family. "Question Mark, Shooting Star, Pine Tree, I had a hunch I might bump into you." I point my finger and shoot a beam through Pine Tree.

He freaks out at the hole in his chest. Man, the twins really don't remember anything of their past lives. He used to like that trick. Mabel sticks her arm through with a "boop." At least she seems to remember.

Dipper shoves his sister's arm out of him and demands, "What do you want with our uncle's mind anyways?"

I lean backwards, a hand behind my back. "Oh, just the code to the old man's safe." I tell them about the layout of memories and bait them with the knowledge I'm gonna steal the code and Gideon will help me in return.

"Not if we stop you," Mabel says.

"Ha, fat chance," I retort. "I'm the Master of the Mind. I even know what you're thinking right now!" Not like it's that hard, though. Have you met that girl?

"That's impossible," she says. "No one can guess what I'm thinking."

With a snap of my fingers, I summon those two tall dudes she likes. Ugh, what does she see in them? "You're out of your league, kids. Turn around now before you see something you might regret." That's the last warning I'm giving those two. "Later, suckers!" I fly backwards into the Shack. I hide up above the front door - not like there's anything to hide behind, it's just a bunch of empty gray space.

Hey, why are you giving me that look? Is this about the warning? I had to, okay? Sure, I wanna use the kids to help me find the code to the safe - that'll get at Stan if he ever finds out - but I know what that man is like. What if they find a certain memory of thirty years ago? Are they really ready to remember what Crescent Claw and Black Glasses did? What if seeing those memories somehow triggers old memories to come back? I might have erased them a long time ago, but they're not gone forever. Boy, I sure hope those kids don't find any of the bad memories.

The door opens below me, and the gang enter the Twilight Zone. Haha, just kidding, though I've always wanted to call this place that. I follow them into the memories section, see them run off to start opening doors. Uh oh. Maybe I should follow them to make sure they don't open the wrong doors. I head down the hallway.

Wait a minute. I don't know which doors are the ones for the bad memories. I slap my forehead. How could I be so stupid? If the kids find out too soon, there go my plans for the Kingdom! Grr, guess I'll have to wing it.

So far, they're just finding weird memories of the old man, like when he was in jail (that was hilarious!), when he was on that date with Lazy Susan (she cried after you ditched her, you jerk!), and then we come to the Dipper memories. I know for sure there aren't any memories in there that'll spoil things too soon. Pine Tree slips away from the group and enters the Dipper's Memories section. I leave him and follow the others. Question Mark goes off down another hallway without telling anyone, and they don't notice he's gone. Good! I disguise myself as the fatso and catch up with the group.

"I hope we find it soon," Mabel says, frowning a little, looking like a sad puppy.

"Aw, don't worry, Mabel," I say in Soos' voice. "I'm sure we'll find it soon."

"I found a lab," the blue-haired dummy says. I forget which one's Craz and which one's Xyler.

"Labs are totally rad!" the blond airhead says.

A lab? Oh, no!

"Hey, Mabel," the blue-haired one says, "I think I see-"

"Burrito Bites!" I shout. I feel stupid, but I can't let Shooting Star find that memory. When the others stare at me, I chuckle nervously and say, "I'm all out of Burrito Bites."

"Don't worry, Soos," Mabel says, patting my big hand with a smile. "When we're out of here, you can have all the Burrito Bites you want."

I smile at her, and the whole group continues, even the two tall dummies. Seriously, what does Shooting Star see in those walking Ken dolls?

We walk a little bit longer, and I call out as Soos would, "Code to Stan's safe, where are you?"

The two idiots start opening and closing doors. At least they're not finding anything spoilerish.

I open a door and see Stan typing a code into the vending machine in the store and going behind it. "If only people knew the truth," he says, "that hidden behind this vending machine, I secretly have a-"

"BORING!" I shout and slam the door. That was a close one. I don't know what the old man does down there anymore, but I know that lab is down there and that the portal's supposed to open up again this summer. I've gotta be ready, and I can't get the kids involved so soon.

We come to a door marked "Top Secret," but when Shooting Star opens the door, it's a rather disturbing memory of Stan talking to his belly and feeding it crackers. I've never so badly wanted to gouge out my eyeball after seeing that.

"Ugh, we've been searching forever," I say. "What if the triangle guy finds the memory before we do?"

"If we wanna find Stan's memory," she says, "we gotta think like Stan. He's always hiding stuff, right?"

"Yeah," I say, eager to share something scandalous about the old man, "like how he hides all his arrest warrants under that rug in the gift shop."

"Soos, that's it!" she cries, a huge smile on her face. "Look!"

We look around the corner - on the floor is a rug with a fortune teller on it. Mabel pulls the rug aside - we all grin when we see the trap door. We open it up, and sure enough, it's the code! I shut the door and say, "Dude, we found it!"

But then Shooting Star wants to destroy the memory. I can't let that happen! What about my plans? "Wait," I tell her, holding a hand out, "maybe I should do it. My big fat arms are great at destroying stuff."

"Oh, okay."

I focus on the door, hoping to steal it and get out of here before they realize I'm not the real Soos. I finally have the memory!

"Hey, guys," the real Soos says, coming up to us, "I just saw a memory of Stan rollerskating and wearing short-shorts. Didn't look...didn't look half bad."

I can't even begin to describe how wrong that is. So wrong.

Question Mark then catches on. "Hey, something weird's goin' on here."

I start laughing right then. It really took them that long to figure out the double? I morph back into my comfortable triangle body, creeping the kids out more, and boast, "Boy, you kids sure are gullible! I knew you'd lead me straight to the code!" I keep laughing, but when I see their confused faces, say, "It's funny how dumb you are."


	5. Question Mark?

**A/N: Glad you guys like the story so far! And Happy New Year! :D**

**Curious Person: No, Xyler and Craz never mention a lab in the show. I put that in the chapter to explain why Bill followed the kids and what he wants to keep them from remembering, at least for the time being.**

* * *

**Bill's POV**

I land on the floor of the black-and-white shack, checking behind me to see if any of those kids followed me. A teeny part of me feels bad for doing this - I may not like Stan that much, but I don't want that pig Gideon getting the shack either. Once Pentagram helps me with what I need, I'll find a way to take the shack back from him and give it to the twins.

My body vibrates and makes a ringing sound. I tap my bow tie to open up a screen with Pentagram's pudgy face and say, "Yellow?"

"Bill, did you find the memory with the combination yet?" the boy demands.

"Relax, shortstack, I've got it right here."

"Perfect!" Man, I'd love to wipe the smirk off that runt's face. "Now, give it to me and I'll fulfill my end of the bargain."

"Finally!" I pull out the memory, tell him to get ready, and peer into the trapdoor. "It's thirteen...fourty-four..." Something hits the memory and knocks it out of my hand. "Ah, nonono, wait, no!"

Too late. It falls into another memory - of the bottomless pit. Memory Stan says, "Whoo, whatever that was, it's gone forever." The door slams shut.

I stare wide-eyed at the people behind me. How did those kids catch up to me so fast, and with a Nyarf gun? Seriously, how did they get that? Did Shooting Star remember the power of the mindscape and call forth a dart gun?

"The deal's off!" Gideon shouts.

No, no, no, this can't be happening. "Wait, no, wait!" I beg.

"I'm switchin' to Plan B." Gideon hangs up on me. I feel broken, betrayed.

Like I did a long time ago, thanks to the King and Queen.

I pull myself together, turning red with anger. "You!" I whirl around to the gang. "You can't even imagine what you just cost me!" Fire forms in my hands. "Do you have any idea what I'm like - **when I'm mad?"** I flash different symbols on them, then trap them in a circle of fire and raise the ground beneath us into the universal mindscape. I make myself grow ten times my size. I don't care if Shooting Star is the reincarnated Princess. She has no idea what she's done! So she and her friends must pay!

**"Eat nightmares!"**

* * *

Dipper wanders around Stan's mind. Mabel, Soos, and the dream guys already went off to stop Bill. He stuffs his hands in his pockets. _Maybe I should've gone with them_, he thinks. He tries to ignore his feelings of guilt by searching for the exit. Instead, he finds the memory again of Stan talking to Soos about him. He's about to shut the door when he realizes Stan was talking about himself!

He listens to the rest of the memory, and when he hears how proud Stan is of him, he rests a hand on the filmy barrier separating memory from maze - and falls right into the memory. Stan and Soos stare at him. "Whoa, kid, what are you doing here?" Memory Stan says. "Nice hole in your chest, by the way. Let's fix that up." With a point of his finger, the hole vanishes.

"What the?" Dipper is amazed. "How'd you do that?"

"Word to the wise, kid, we're in the mind. You can do whatever you can imagine in here." To prove his point, he summons a soda and opens it.

Dipper feels as if he's heard that advice before, like he's been in the mindscape before. "Well, how about that."

He then hears Mabel and Soos screaming and Bill laughing. "Oh, my gosh! What am I doing? I have to stop Bill!" He runs out of the memory, and the door shuts behind him. He sprints down the hallway and around the corner, searching everywhere for them. All he finds are more doors and more hallways. He growls. "Stupid maze," he mutters, coming to a stop just outside of the entrance to the Memories Maze. "How am I supposed to find them now?"

A voice in his head says, with a slight echo, "If you're ever stuck, try flying around. You'd be surprised at how much you can see."

That voice sounds familiar, _really_ familiar. But how? He pushes this question aside, squeezes his eyes shut, and pictures himself flying through the air. He feels his legs dangle as he rises into the air. "Haha, yes!" he says with a fistpump. He opens his eyes and looks up at the ceiling. Wait, there's no ceiling. Huh, that's oddly convenient. He soars up and up.

"One nightmare comin' up!" he hears. That sounds a lot like Bill. He follows the voice up and up, and soon he sees a stone version of Stan's head. He flies higher and higher, a blue glow surrounding his body.

Dipper finally makes it to the top. "Hey, Bill!"

The red triangle does a double-take. _**"What?!"**_**  
**

"Nice bow tie!" Dipper shoots lasers from his eyes and blasts a hole through Bill. _Let's see how he likes it._

"Dipper!" his sister says, she and Soos more than happy to see him.

He tells them the secret of the mindscape and they all use it to fight Bill. They all work together to open up a portal to kick Bill out of Stan's mind. The demon panics and screams, _**"Enough!"**_

* * *

**Bill's POV**

"You know, I'm impressed with you guys," I admit, dusting off my top hat before setting it back on my head. "You're a lot more clever than you look, especially the fat one." Seriously, how did Question Mark know to use his Symbol? "So I'm gonna let you kids off the hook. You might come in handy later. **But know this:** a darkness approaches. A day will come in the future when everything you care about will change.

"Until then, I'll be watching you." I show them all the Ten Symbols prophecy before disappearing and returning to my home in the Kingdom. I plop down in my armchair and slouch a little.

How did Soos do that? I mean, sure, his Symbol is the Question Mark, but how did he know to use that to fight? And Dipper and Mabel didn't use theirs. It makes sense they wouldn't, because they don't remember anything and, besides, I've hidden the Ten Symbols prophecy real well after that stupid author went and drew it in his journal. Looks like I'll have to keep an eye on Question Mark. If he figured out about his Symbol, who's to say the others won't? I can't let them mess up my plans. I've been waiting for too long for an opportunity like this, and I'm not about to let them make the same mistake that stupid author, his brother, and that old kook did a long time ago!

"Bill Cipher."

I'd know that voice echoing through the air anywhere. I sigh. Meeting with the King and Queen right now is not what I want to do after facing the twins. Besides, the past thirty years haven't exactly been the best around here. Their Royal Highnesses have been freaking out about their poor children's souls (even though I tell them all the time I'm looking out for them), they're barely getting things done around here, and they're becoming more secretive and paranoid all the time. If they'd just let me in on a deep, dark secret or two, they wouldn't be so stressed out.

"Bill Cipher," the King's voice repeats. "Come to the palace now."

I rise out of my seat, and straighten my hat and bow tie. If they ask me anything about the twins, I'll make up something. I don't want them finding the twins so soon. I open the door of my little house and fly out. Swatting a few fairies out of my face, I float over to the palace, my eye flickering to the garden labyrinth on the other side of the huge lawn. I quickly glance away and speed up a little, pushing away the memories of chasing that rotten human and seeing the twins' corpses.

The inside of the palace is pretty spiffy, but I don't pay attention as I make my way down the hallway to the throne room. Hovering just outside, I don't need to open the door to know they just need me to discuss the portal problem near the vampire village. Boy, it's a good thing Shooting Star doesn't know about the vampire village, or she'd go crazy. I adjust my tie one more time before heading inside.


	6. Nightmare

"Mabel, that's enough!" Dipper says, turning to her. "If Stan won't get the shack back from Gideon, then we've gotta do it ourselves."

"Gideon may have the upper hand," his sister says with a smirk, "but we have one thing he doesn't. A grappling hook!" She holds up the hook.

At the same time, her brother says, "The journal!" He holds up the book.

"Oh, the journal." Mabel lowers the grappling hook and pumps her fist in the air. "Journal!"

She watches Dipper go over to the couch and flip through the pages, looking for something they can use to stop Gideon from destroying the Mystery Shack and building Gideonland. "The sooner we stop Gideon, the sooner we'll be out of this nightmare."

Mabel sits down next to him, her smile fading. "Hey, Dipper," she says, fiddling with the metal claws of the hook, "remember that maze dream we keep having?"

"Yeah," he says distractedly, staring at page after page.

"Well, uh..." _Just say it._ "Remember that triangle in the maze with the one eye?"

Dipper looks up from the journal. "One eye?" he repeats, the significance becoming clearer.

"You don't think..."

"It couldn't be!"

The twins stare at each other. "Okay," Mabel says, resting the grappling hook on her lap and holding up her fingers to tick off different things. "We know it's a triangle, and we know it's got one eye. That doesn't mean it's Bill, though, right?"

"Right." Dipper shuts the book and lays it aside. "For all we know, it could just be a drawing on one of the walls of the maze. Or we're just mixing up the triangle with that other guy in the maze. That guy looked human at least. Maybe the eye came from him."

"Maybe." But neither twin is convinced entirely.

Soos' grandma carries a tray of milk and cookies into the room. "Would the twins like a treat?" she says kindly.

They smile at her and each grab two chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. "Thanks, Abuelita," Mabel says.

"Anything for Soos' friends." Abuelita sets the tray on the table and turns to the kids. "I'm so sorry about the shack. Soos loved working there." She frowns at her hands.

Both twins feel for her. Dipper reaches out and pats one of her hands. "It'll be alright, Abuelita. I have a feeling we're going to be back in the Mystery Shack before you know it." The kids exchange conspiratorial glances.

"Oh, just look at you," Abuelita says, pinching Dipper's cheek much to his chagrin. "Just like a Prince Charming coming to save the day." She leaves the twins on the couch.

Dipper doesn't know why Abuelita's "prince" comment resonates with him so strongly. He pushes the thought from his mind and bites into the moist cookie. "So," he says with his mouth full, "got any idea how we're gonna fight Gideon?"

Mabel swallows her bite before talking. "We could use fairies."

He glares at her. "We are not using fairies, especially after Soos killed that one outside our bedroom window."

"I know." Mabel stares into her milk glass. "I guess I'm still thinking about that dream." She feels her brother's eyes on her. "I just remember seeing fairies once, that's all."

She looks up when she feels a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Mabel," Dipper assures her. "It's just a dream. It can't hurt you." He gives her a small smile, which she returns. They finish their snack before getting ready for bed, hopeful they will never have to worry about the maze, or Bill, ever again.

But their dreams that night prove that wrong.

* * *

They're running from something, but they don't know what. "Down here!" Mabel shouts, pointing down another dark path. The twins round the corner and pump their arms and legs as hard as they can to get away from the person chasing them.

"Stop right there!" the person says.

The twins just run faster. They turn down more paths, but they know they're lost in the labyrinth. They round another corner.

Dead end. They screech to a halt, desperately looking around them for something, anything, to get them away from this man.

"Well, well, well," a dark voice behind them says. They slowly turn around to see him. "Just the kiddies I've been looking for."

"What do you want from us?" Dipper demands.

"I want to know what this place is, where the supernatural comes from, and what's so special about Gravity Falls." He steps towards them. "Now, be good little kids and tell me everything, or..." He holds up something that shines steel gray in the moonlight.

Even though the twins have never seen a gun, they know there's one aimed at them right now. "But we don't know anything!" Dipper says.

"Don't lie to me."

"We really don't!" Mabel insists.

"You're running out of time." He cocks the gun.

Dipper and Mabel exchange glances. Their parents never told them any of these secrets, and they don't know anything about Gravity Falls. That was the one portal they were told to stay away from.

"Time's up," he says.

BANG!

Mabel stares in horror as her brother crumples to the ground, clutching his stomach and moaning. She hears another bang and feels a strong pain sear through her stomach. She falls down and wraps her arms around her middle. She sneaks a little glance at her hands. They are covered in crimson.

"Look at what this has come to," he says. "You could've been good kids and told me everything. But now, you won't live to see the next day."

"Neither will you!" the protector says, swooping down and punching the guy in the nose. The villain groans and clutches his nose, dropping his gun in the process. The protector snaps his fingers, and the gun dissolves into a pile of dirt.

Mabel can't keep her eyes open much longer. She tries to call the protector over, so she and her brother can be near a friend before they pass on - but her voice fails her, and she sighs, shutting her eyes. "No, wait, no!" she hears someone say. She feels something touch her head, and she squints up at the protector. Are those tears in his eye? "I can't lose you guys, too!"

Her hand shakes as she reaches up to touch his bow tie. "Take care," she says, before her vision darkens.

CHING!

A flash of light blinds the twins for a moment, and when it disappears, they are sitting upright, gasping for breath in the middle of Abuelita's living room. They stare wide-eyed at each other. It's a good thing they didn't scream this time, as they don't want to wake up Grunkle Stan, Soos, or Abuelita. Communicating only through glances and nods, they quietly slip out of their beds and into the kitchen. They don't dare turn the light on, choosing instead to rely on the faint starlight and moonlight coming through the window.

"What was that?" Dipper whispers.

"I dunno," Mabel says. "We've never had that kind of dream before."

They stand there in silence, each one processing the nightmare they just had. Mabel shudders. "It felt so real being shot."

"Yeah." His eyes widen. "Hey, did you see a 'protector' coming for us?"

"Yeah."

"Did you get a good look at him?"

They stare at each other, confused and horrified by the one-eyed triangle they saw. "But why did he say he couldn't lose us, too?" Mabel whispers.

Dipper shrugs. "He could just be trying to trick us."

"...Hey, Dipper, you don't think Bill sent these dreams to confuse us, do you?"

"Nah, besides, we've been having these dreams since we were little. We didn't meet Bill until a couple days ago."

But somehow, the twins feel like they have met Bill before, a long time ago. And that it was no coincidence he was in their dream.


	7. Portal's Rising

**Update 8 Sep 2016: When I started this story, I had theories and guesses, but no certainties how the show would go. So, as I wrote this, I kept it vague enough that I could still follow the show up to some point before branching off - however, I thought that Stanford was the grandfather, so I just went back and changed "grandfather" to "great-uncle" in this chapter. I know it's a small detail, but when I reread chapters to keep the continuity, it was bugging me. So, I just went back and fixed that part. Nothing else is different.**

**Carry on.**

* * *

Bill blinks to change his vision from the inside of his house to the twins as they hide in the bushes outside the fence surrounding the Mystery Shack. He doesn't know what they're planning to do to steal the shack back from Pentagram. He does sense that the twins didn't get a good night's sleep last night. He wishes he knew what they were dreaming about - but he promised himself never to invade their minds unless necessary, and besides, even if he were to invade their minds, they'd stop dreaming. It comes with being a dream demon: as soon as he appears in someone's mind, they stop dreaming so they can talk to him. If he wanted to know their dreams, he'd have to find the dream section of their mind, and he'd rather not put in the extra work.

As Pine Tree flips through the pages of the journal, he comes upon the portal page. Bill tenses. He knows the twins don't know about the portal just yet, but he can't help but worry that they could ruin everything too soon. Thankfully, Shooting Star interrupts and says that they need an army. He stops watching them when they head inside the forest to find the gnomes.

His vision back to seeing the inside of his little house, Bill paces back and forth, hands behind his back. He knows that they'll stop Gideon and that he'll go to jail. He knows they'll get the Mystery Shack back. He knows the twins will fight against the government agents.

What he doesn't know is if they can handle the three tasks ahead of them, or if they'll survive the rest of the summer.

* * *

_Later that day..._

"Sorry, kids," Stan says, frowning at his great-niece and nephew in the window of the bus. "It's for the best." He turns away so his heart won't break seeing the bus take off with the kids inside - though he glances one last time over his shoulder at the departing bus. He'd already called the kids' parents today saying he couldn't take care of them anymore, so they should be waiting for the kids in Piedmont.

"I'm so sorry, Mister Pines," Wendy says, rubbing the back of her neck when the bus is out of sight.

"It's not your fault," he says, trudging back to Abuelita's house. He'd rather spend the rest of his time alone, sulking over what he's lost: the kids, his home, Journal #1, his way through the portal.

The portal. He stops outside the front door to the house, closes his eyes, and sighs. Without the lab under the shack, there's no way he can cross through the portal now. He'll never get to exploit his discoveries and share them with Dipper and Mabel...and he won't get to introduce them to their great-uncle. If he's still alive.

* * *

_Later that night..._

Bill passes through the triangular window into Pine Tree and Shooting Star's room, completely invisible as the twins settle into bed. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he was freaking out during that fight on the train tracks bridge. At one point, he wanted to help them, to keep them alive longer - but unless someone summons him, it's really hard for him to cross over so everyone can see him. Like, he's only done it on his own once before.

He doesn't mind being in shadow form now, watching Pine Tree and Shooting Star drift off into sleep. He beams at them, proud of how brave and smart they were. _Whoa, there!_ he thinks. _Don't even think about that! They're not your kids!_ That last thought reminds Bill of how lonely he is.

He turns away from the drowsy twins, staring at the triangular window he just crossed through. He knows it's not the kids' fault his family's dead, but still. A part of him wants to whisk them away, keep them from finding their parents and becoming the next King and Queen. He doesn't want them following that legacy.

On the other hand, he knows he could be in very big trouble if he doesn't return the twins to the Kingdom. Time's running out. If he's going to use the twins to overthrow the King and Queen, he needs to form a plan soon.

Minutes later, the twins are sound asleep, the pig curled up with Shooting Star. Bill gets an eerie feeling. The last time he saw the kids so still and quiet was back in the labyrinth. He remembers that night all too well. Instead of spying on Crescent Claw who's sneaking behind the vending machine right now, Bill recalls the events of that fateful night thirty years ago.

He was at the palace when a strong vision came to him: the royal twins were crossing the South Gate portal. He zoomed over there and flew through the portal, landing a punch on one of the guys on the other side. He urged the twins to hurry back through the portal, quickly healing their minor bruises before scolding them on passing through the portal.

At that moment, the first intruder appeared. He claimed to be a good guy, here to warn them of another man who wanted to hurt the twins. Bill didn't trust this man, but he told the kids to run anyways. They fled to the garden labyrinth while the the first man and Bill awaited the arrival of the second intruder. They heard the gunshot before they saw him, and Bill had to tend to the critical injury the first man had gotten from the gun. He told Bill not to worry about him, but to save the kids. He left the man in the care of the King and Queen, who had finally left of the palace, just now arriving at the portal gate.

Bill raced to the labyrinth and made his way easily to the center - only to find the twins weren't there. He amplified his powers through the magic of the labyrinth and saw in his mind's eye the twins cornered in a dead end not too far away. He raced over there, but heard two gunshots. Furious, he punched the intruder again and destroyed the gun. He turned away from the bad man when he saw the twins lying in forming pools of their own blood. Both faintly smiled up at him and wished him well. Right before their life force faded forever, he placed an enchantment on them, filling the maze corridor with light. Certain that the magic would bring the twins back someday, he let his tears fall as the twins died before him, so still, so quiet.

The room shakes, jerking him from his reverie. "Huh?" Bill says aloud, not even worried about being heard. He turns around to face the room as a blue glow shines from beneath the floorboards - at the same time, a very strong thought pops up in his mind. _The portal is opening._

* * *

Stan beams as the portal opens. "Thirty long years, and it's all led up to this: my greatest achievement." He glances down at his boxers. "Probably should've worn pants." His brother always made a fuss whenever he didn't wear pants.

The portal crackles and emits a rod of lightning. After admiring the machine some more, he heads back out to the control panel, flipping a few switches he remembers the author choosing. The search begins for whatever lies on the other side. "If I finally pull this off, it'll all have been worth it." Once he gets his twin back and restores ol' Fiddleford, the first thing he's gonna do is gloat. Then, maybe he'll celebrate their return. But mostly he just wants the group back together again.

"I just need to keep playing it cool," Stan tells himself. "If anyone ever finds out about this..." The last time that happened, the government got involved - then those two kids appeared through the portal.

He glances at the photo of his great-nephew and niece, and he can't help but notice they look kind of like the other kids. If they ever found out about this, or if the government came back here...

"Ha, yeah right," he laughs, dismissing the thought. He pulls on a glove that has an extra finger. "I've come this far. Who could possibly catch me now?" He flips the power switch to maximum, unaware of a government agency picking up signals from the portal.

Nor is he aware of an angry triangle crossing back through the window into the Kingdom.


	8. Agents and Zombies

For once, Dipper and Mabel don't have any dreams about the labyrinth, though they did dream of an ornate palace filled with hundreds of rooms inside. They wake up feeling rested after the crazy events of yesterday. They head downstairs into the kitchen for some breakfast. As Dipper pours himself some cereal, he hears Mabel ask, "Where's Grunkle Stan?"

He glances up from his bowl and realizes their miserly guardian is nowhere to be seen. "He's probably in the bathroom."

SLAM! They're surprised to hear that sound come from the gift shop. The only thing in there that could make that sound is the vending machine.

Stan enters the kitchen, wearing his usual undershirt, underwear, and slippers. He hesitates when he spots the kids, but then resumes walking to the fridge. "Whatcha kiddos up to?"

"Just enjoying we have the shack back," Mabel says with a grin.

"Me too, Mabel," Stan says distractedly, a hand on the handle of the fridge door. "Me too."

The twins exchange glances. "Grunkle Stan," Dipper asks, "are you okay?"

Their grunkle shakes his head as if coming out of a reverie, and he opens the door and pulls out the carton of milk. "I'm not thinking about anything, alright?" He shuts the door, uncaps the carton. "Now both of you, hurry up and get ready for the grand reopening." He takes a swig of milk straight from the container. Dipper and Mabel meet each other's gaze, silently promising not to drink milk ever again.

* * *

"Hey, Mister Pines," Soos says, "what's that code word I'm supposed to yell when I see a government vehicle?"

That catches Bill's attention. He turns away from tidying his little home to watching the hovering orb in the center of the room. He sees Crescent Claw rush to the window that Question Mark is at and say, "What? Government vehicle?" Bill knows why Stan hates the government, and he hates them as well. That one night thirty years ago changed everything for the worse.

And these government people better not cause any disaster like they tried to thirty years ago. He still can't forgive that one agent that killed the royal twins.

Bill watches as Crescent Claw tries to throw the agents off the scent - but he almost growls in aggravation when Pine Tree tries to team up with the agents. He knows that the kid doesn't remember who killed him in his past life, but at the same time he feels the kid should have some common sense. "Pine Tree could ruin everything with his curiosity," the demon mutters, pulling out his cane and drumming his fingers against it rapidly.

He could almost hug Stan when he interrupts and manages to shoo the agents out of the shack. He doesn't feel sorry for Pine Tree when Crescent Claw confiscates the card with the agents' number on it though. When Shooting Star starts talking about karaoke, he waves his hand and the orb vanishes. He has to do something, keep the twins from discovering the secret of the portal so soon. If they find out too soon, the government agents could find the Kingdom and capture or kill the King and Queen. While Bill hates the royal family (except the young twins), he doesn't want anything to happen to them - or else he could lose those precious secrets forever, and then there go his chances at both stopping the apocalypse and taking over part of the Kingdom.

* * *

_**Later that evening...**_

Stan grumbles as he flips some switches. "Those agents could ruin everything," he says aloud, obviously remembering the one that showed up thirty years ago. He will never forget how he lost his brother thanks to that man and the one-eyed triangle that came through the portal.

And now the same thing might happen again, all thanks to Dipper. "Darn kid. He has no idea what he's messing with." He glances at Journal #1 and picks it up. "He's stubborn, that's his problem." He dusts the cover off to make the hand shine.

He sees his reflection and frowns, remembering his own actions thirty years ago. "Sorta like me, I suppose." Will Dipper do the same thing Stan did and invite the government agents into town, showing them the supernatural and only realizing too late that they're evil?

"Bah." He sets the book down and continues adjusting the machine. "I've got too much on my mind to worry about those kids right now." He works for half a minute before he hears an unfamiliar growl. He glances down at his pudgy stomach, but he's not hungry. Maybe he was imagining things?

Something breaks behind him. "What in the devil?" Stan swivels in his chair - on the camera screen, he sees his great-nephew and niece trapped in the gift shop surrounded by zombies. "What the-" He grabs a baseball bat he keeps stored down here (in case anybody unwelcome ever found this place) and hurries back up to the shack. As he nears the backside of the vending machine, he hears Dipper say how this is all his fault. _Yeah it is,_ Stan thinks. He carefully slips out from the vending machine so that no one and nothing sees him come out or tries to go in.

Two zombies notice him and try to attack him. They grab and tear at his suit, but he punches them away, more worried about protecting those kids from these creatures. He spots one of the zombies holding his nephew in the air by the arm. He smacks the zombie in the face, making it drop Dipper, and he steps on the creature for good measure. He then takes a moment to catch his breath after all that running and punching. He turns to the kids. "You two. Attic. Now!"

"Grunkle Stan?" they say in surprise.

"I said NOW!"

They run out of the room. Stan turns to the zombies and starts whacking at them with the bat. "Alright, you undead jerks, you ready to die twice?" He goes on taunting them, but only to keep their attention on him. He doesn't have time to enjoy their pain. After throwing down the grandfather's clock at them, he sprints to the attic - but the door's locked. Using his lock-picking skills, he gets the door open. He coughs and groans, "Ow, everything hurts."

Dipper congratulates him as he shuts and locks the door. "Grunkle Stan, that was amazing! Are you alright?"

_What does it look like?_

The boy chuckles nervously. "Well, it looks like you can't deny magic exists anymore, right?"

Stan almost plays along, but finally admits, "Kid, I've always known." He doesn't explain how he knows, but he does emphasize how dangerous Gravity Falls is and how he tried to protect the kids.

* * *

**Bill's POV**

What was Pine Tree thinking? A cemetery's worth of zombies?! If he ever does reclaim his throne, I will slap him any time he suggests anything to do with zombies. And I'm stuck in the mindscape, so all I can do is watch what's going on. Sure, I could show myself to them without going through the summoning ritual, but it requires a lot of time and energy and I'd rather save my strength for when I really need to use it.

I'm in the attic with them as they discover the invisible secrets of the journal. They just find out the zombies' weakness, but even I have no idea how they can do a perfect three-part harmony strong enough to kill all the zombies. Shooting Star says, "Boys, please. I think you're missing the obvious here."

What is she talking about? Wait, why is she going over to the karaoke machine? Why do Stan and Dipper look nervous? Hold on, are they seriously trying to drag the machine out the window? And they're going up to the roof -

Oh. My. God. They're gonna sing, aren't they?

Ha ha ha, I wish I had a camera and a bag of popcorn! Look at their faces! "Love Patrol Alpha?" Ha ha ha! You can't make up this stuff! I crack up when Pine Tree sings about having a dress on. I throw my head back and laugh when the three start singing together. It's funny how stupid they look! And it's actually working! I can hear all those exploding zombie heads as the three finish the song.

Boy, that sure was a good laugh. I'm still chuckling as I follow the family back inside their house. Eesh, good thing this isn't my house. It's such a mess! Now Crescent Claw is telling the twins to stay out of trouble, but I see Pine Tree crossing his fingers behind his back. Does that kid even know what he's getting into? I'm not super worried about Shooting Star finding out anything soon. Just give her a craft project or a piece of yarn and she's fine.

I slip back into the Kingdom, pace around my home. The twins survived the zombie attack, but what happens if they get into even bigger trouble, like those stupid agents? Will they survive that? They have to survive this summer! I need them!

Hey, why are you giving me that look? I don't need them like that, okay? I just need them to find out the few big secrets of the universe for me. Don't roll your eyes at me, buddy! I don't care about those kids, or the fact that after this summer is through they won't need me anymore. They'll grow up and move on...I'll be stuck here, thanks to that deal.

No, stop, I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to make me get too attached to the kids, then I won't wanna use them for my own selfish reasons and everything will be fine and dandy in the end. Look, I promised myself after I lost my family that I wouldn't get attached to anyone ever again. 'Kay, sure, the Prince and Princess were great friends, but it nearly killed me when they died. I'm not going back down that path. I'll use Pine Tree and Shooting Star to my advantage, restore them to their throne, then that's it.

Now, if you readers will excuse me, I have something in my eye. Go on! Get out of here! Don't make me come into your mind and make you go crazy - _**because I can!**_


	9. Trouble Brewing

"Hey, bro bro!" Mabel chirps when she hears Dipper shut the door to the attic bedroom. "How was your movie day with Wendy?"

"Good, I guess," he mumbles.

She looks up from her scrapbook at her brother, who has his nose stuck in Journal #3, one hand holding a blacklight. Yesterday, she would've scoffed at his obsession with the journal. Today, she asks him, "Did you find anything new?"

Dipper takes his eyes off the secret text only so he can sit himself down next to his sister in between their beds. "Look at this," he says, laying part of the journal in her lap, the other half in his. He hovers the blacklight directly above the spot he wants her to see.

The first thing Mabel notices is that this is one of the "blank" pages at the back of the journal. Second, at the top of the page is "CROSSROADS." Right below this are weird scribbles and doodles.

"I'm not sure what it is or what it means," Dipper says with a lopsided frown.

"Ooh, that's pretty," Mabel says, pointing to a jumble of lines and circles.

He shines the light directly above the image. "What is that?" He squints and bends closer until his nose almost touches the page. "It looks like a...maze or labyrinth or something."

"Do you think the author might have gone there?" The twins continue pouring over the Crossroads page, asking each other about the strange and curious images and texts. At the bottom right corner, almost trailing off the page, it reads, "What could Cipher mean?"

"Bill?" they say at the same time, staring at each other.

"Kids!" Stan hollers from downstairs. "Dinner's ready!"

"Why did Bill show the author some weird crossroads thing?" Mabel says in a low voice.

"I don't know," Dipper says, flipping through the journal to a page and holding the blacklight over it to show a tree and an underground bunker. "But maybe when we go exploring tomorrow with Soos and Wendy, we can find some more clues to unravel these secrets."

* * *

Bill adjusts his tie outside the doors to the throne room. He doesn't know why the King and Queen summoned him so late, or why they were so urgent. But he might as well look his best for whatever is to come. He opens the tall doors telepathically and flies through. "Hey, Your Majesties," he says, touching the brim of his hat and nodding his head. Last time he took his hat off to them, all the furniture, artifacts, and people got jumbled up. So, now he keeps his hat on in the throne room.

The King sits up straight and tall on his throne. "Bill Cipher, have you found our children yet?"

_What, not even a "hello, thanks for all you do, you're the greatest Cipher ever?" _Bill pulls out his cane. "You know that if I found them, you'd be the first to know."

"We know," the Queen says, pursing her lips in a frown. "It's just been so long since we've seen our beloved children." She sniffs and dabs at her eyes with a handkerchief.

_Oh, brother. _"Don't worry, my Queen. I promise the children will be back before you know it."

"That's what concerns me," the King says. Without rising, he waves his hand. The room darkens, and a miniature model of the universe softly glows in the middle of the threesome.

Bill stares at the map. He'd seen it only once before, after the apocalypse destroyed his world and the King and Queen of that time told him he couldn't go back home. All that remained on the map they had shown him was a colorless, empty blotch on the otherwise beautiful model. The first thing that catches his attention now is the two glowing sparks circling Earth. From what he's heard of the map, sparks have never shown up before - why now, and why the twins' world?

"Tell us," the King says, leaning back stiffly in his throne. "What do you remember of the apocalypse?"

Bill turns away, so that their Royal Snottinesses won't see the memories flashing on his triangular body - nor see his eye turning black and red with anger. It takes all his being to keep from bursting into flame as memories quickly come and go on his body. He tries hard not to dwell on any of them - not the one of the shockwaves of energy blasting everything off its foundations, nor the one of raging fires and floods devastating the land, and especially not the one of his parents and closest friends being sucked into a dark, swirling vortex. The one memory that fires him up the most is when he woke up on the outskirts of this kingdom after being hit by debris, when the King and Queen had restored him to full health and told him about the fate of his homeworld.

The royals had known the apocalypse was coming, they knew the impact it would have on his world, and what had they done? **Nothing.** If Bill survived the apocalypse, then surely everyone else could have, too!

The last of the memories fades from his body, which glows yellow again. His eye turns back to normal, and he turns around. "Just the usual, you know, world falling apart and all."

"But do you know what caused it?" the Queen asks, lowering her handkerchief to rest by her chin.

His eye narrows, and he drums his fingers against the handle of the cane. "That's the weird thing," he admits to them. "I have no idea." But he has a gut feeling that the dumb royals do, which makes him hate them even more.

"It was caused by a power surge," the King says, "the likes of which have never been seen before or since...that is, until today."

Bill fights back the urge to roll his eye. _Another ominous thing I've gotta take care of. These suckers are useless!_

"Something big is happening on the other side of the South Gate," the old royal continues, unaware of the dream demon's thoughts. "Something that threatens more than just that world."

The Queen takes over, "We have to find our children soon, or they will perish and be gone forever. And if they die, the Kingdom dies with them."

Bill's eye snaps open. "What? How?"

"That night thirty years ago," the King says, "when we had those two intruders, one of them was benign, but the other was malicious and killed our children. You did a fine job taking care of him, Mister Cipher, but the labyrinth was nevertheless altered that night. And I take it you know the labyrinth's power and its origin?"

Bill's heart drops as he realizes what the King is implying, but he keeps a straight face. "So you want me to return your precious kiddies and stabilize everything in the labyrinth, and everything will be hunky-dory. I can do that." He turns to leave.

"Mister Cipher." Bill stops but doesn't turn back around. "I take it you remember how to fix the situation with the garden labyrinth?"

_You people are sick._ But the triangle guy says, "Yes, of course, I remember how to handle it. Reality's not _that_ much of an illusion. Later, suckers!" He zooms out of the room and hurries back to his house. A little part of him is worried that the apocalypse is coming so soon - much sooner than they all thought - and that something even worse could be coming. He knows the King and Queen care about the children, but the kind of sacrifice required to restore the labyrinth and stabilize the Kingdom? He pushes the thoughts from his mind and gets straight to work revising his plans for Dipper, Mabel, and the Kingdom.

* * *

The King and Queen gaze at each other thoughtfully as the doors to the throne room shut on their own. "I wonder about that fellow sometimes," the King says, waving his hand to make the universal map vanish into dust.

"You should have told him," the Queen says, lowering her hands and folding them in her lap.

"Told him what?"

She gives him a knowing look.

The King rubs his bearded chin. "If I had told him, he would have lost focus on finding our reincarnated children. He seems to be losing his touch as it is."

"He's trying his best." She frowns at her hands. "I can't imagine what it would be like living for centuries all alone."

Her husband dismisses that with his hand. "He's not alone. He has us and the other creatures here for company. Besides," he adds, looking intently at his wife, "if he knew that his family is alive, he would leave us immediately. We need him, honey. He's a pyraman. He can protect us."

The Queen nods, keeping her eyes down.

Once more, the throne room doors open. The old royals glance up at the tall faun entering the room. "My lieges," he says in a low, deep voice. He bows low to them. "The prisoner wishes to speak with you."

They stare at each other. The benign intruder had never wanted to talk to them before. All he ever said to them was that he was glad the evil intruder had been defeated and that he was sorry for the loss of the twins. He refused to say much after they threw him in the dungeon. The only things they know about him are that he had a twin brother and a son, and that all he wants is to return to Gravity Falls.

Rising to their feet slowly and groaning a bit, they bid the faun leave them. "We're getting too old for this," the King says.

"We need to do something about him," the Queen says, referring to their prisoner. "He can't stay in that cell forever."

"Don't worry, my darling," the King says, taking his wife's hand as they make their way out of the throne room. "He won't be."


	10. Something's Wrong

**Bill's POV**

No, no, no! How could this happen?

I swear, not even a week ago, Pine Tree discovered the invisible text in the journal - now, the twins have the author's laptop?!

Thankfully, they don't know the password to get into the laptop, but that doesn't stop Pine Tree from trying. Shooting Star promises to help, but she's distracted by yet another guy. He's way too old for you! Get a life!

Oh, this is terrible! They're getting too close too quickly to uncovering the biggest secrets of the universe. If they unlock the laptop, they could find out about the incident thirty years ago. And if they do, who knows what they'll do then? They could go traipsing around the world getting into trouble, or they could try to visit another world - or worse: try to find the King and Queen and reunite with them! The only way the King and Queen are getting the kids is if they hand over those few precious secrets they're keeping from me!

I follow the kids out of the library. Thankfully, they don't look back and see my shadow on the wall. I might be in the mindscape, but sometimes folks can see shadows of people in the mindscape. They would freak out if they ever saw my shadow following them. I didn't exactly have a pleasant "first encounter" with them last time.

Now, the twins are just getting supplies for another one of Shooting Star's schemes. No idea why they're getting socks or talking about musical numbers, so now seems like a good time to head home and revise my plans...again. I've got to figure out how to get the laptop from them - or destroy it. I'm okay with either.

* * *

**Mystery Person's POV**

I don't know what Bill is up to. He just seems to be following those two children around as if worried they're gonna do something dangerous. Yes, I know who the twins are - I'm not that out of the loop - but other than crossing through the portal thirty years ago, they haven't ever done anything dangerous. At least, I don't think so. News doesn't spread from world to world that easily, and I'm not great at using my powers yet to reveal truths and events from the past.

I hurry to catch up to Bill when he turns away from the kids - dang it! He disappeared! Probably back to his home. I've tried forever to find his home, but it must be somewhere in the Kingdom, because I can't find it anywhere else, and the Kingdom is the one place I can't go. Now, I'm wishing I hadn't turned myself invisible. Then he could see me and we could catch up - but there's still a part of me that's kinda scared to. It took me forever to harness control over my powers, but what if he asks me about the apocalypse? I can't just tell him the truth of what happened.

An echo-y voice calls my name. My friend. I create a portal and jump through it, landing in the middle of a huge, golden throne room. I tilt my head back to see the three tall thrones. None of them are occupied. But, I thought I heard -

"Nice to see you again."

I turn around. "Ofelia." I cross the distance between us and hug her tight. "I missed you a lot."

"You can stay here," she says, pulling apart from the hug and gazing at me with big brown eyes. "You and your family can always stay with us. You know that, right?"

"I know." I lower my gaze to the ground. "But I can't. My family could, but I can't."

Ofelia frowns. "Why not?"

"I, uh...well-"

"If you're still thinking about that terrible night," the king says, walking out from behind one of the towering thrones, "you shouldn't worry about it." I watch him as he comes over to join us, swaths of red and gold swooshing and sweeping behind him. "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it was." I know I shouldn't argue with royalty, but let's face it: all that destruction and misery was my fault, and I can't let it go. "I couldn't control my powers, and I ended up unleashing a terrible force on everyone."

"Trust me," the king says, laying a hand on my shoulder. "It wasn't you. Though you were, and are, quite powerful for your age, there is no way that apocalypse could ever be caused by you."

"But if it wasn't me, then what was it?"

The king gazes at me pitifully. "I'm afraid I don't know for certain."

I stare at the polished floor again.

"Please stay," Ofelia begs, taking my hand and holding it between both of hers. "You're my best friend."

I turn my head and look up at her through my lashes. "Even after I left you in the middle of the labyrinth when Vidal was after you and the baby?"

The intensity and sincerity of her eyes make me regret every bad decision I ever made - but she gently says, "I know why you left me, and it's okay. You're still my friend." The two royals envelop me in a hug when I start crying.

We stay like that for a while before I hear the queen's voice say, "Look who's back for a visit." Breaking apart from the hug, I see the queen striding over to us, a kind smile on her face. "How long are you here for?"

"Actually," I say, dabbing at my eye and sniffing, "Ofelia summoned me."

"I have something to show you." She tugs my hand, and I practically trip over my feet trying to keep up with her hurried pace.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"You'll see." She leads me down golden hallway after golden hallway until finally, we reach the gigantic doors that lead to her room. She pries one open, and we both slip through.

The first thing I notice is the Book of Crossroads on her bed. The second thing, that it's open to somewhere past the middle of the book. Ofelia lets go of my hand and strides over to grab her book. "Look at this," she says, holding the page out for me to see.

I step over and look. "Why are the words and pictures faint?"

"Something is happening to the magic of the Book." The princess looks me straight in the eye as she says, "I don't know much about this kingdom before I came back, but I know that thirty years ago there was a strange fluctuation of magic in this world. My parents didn't want me to find out, but I heard them talking to a couple fauns the other day about how the magic is fading in this world."

"Fading? But that's impossible. The only way that could happen is-" I don't finish my thought, because I desperately don't want it to be true.

"Is what?" Ofelia insists.

"...I'm not entirely sure," I say slowly, adjusting my hat, "but I think it has something to do with the main Kingdom."

Her brown eyes widen. "You really think so?"

I nod, rub the back of my neck. "That's the one place I can't get to, and everywhere else I've been to, things have been fine." Although, now that I'm thinking about it, strange occurrences and phenomena have been happening - but I don't tell her that. "I'm sorry, Ofelia, but I have to go," I say, backing away from her.

"Already?"

I turn away from her sad expression. "I have to check on some business."

"Please stay!" Her voice makes me stop, one hand on the doorknob. "The fauns and fairies have been asking about you. They've never met a person like you and have so much to ask you...It's also my birthday," she adds when I stay silent.

Crud, her birthday? I mentally slap myself, glance behind me, and tell her, "I really have to take care of this, but I promise I will come back and spend the rest of the day with you." I bid her goodbye, and it's not until I'm halfway down the hallway that I create a portal to take me back to Gravity Falls.

No matter how hard I search, I can't find Bill. When I find the lost Prince and Princess, they're just making sock puppets. Even though it's such a harmless activity, I can't help but fear for them. At least I understand why Bill's so concerned with them: it's not that they're doing anything dangerous - it's that they're **in** danger. If the magic's going out in Ofelia's kingdom, and weird things are happening on other worlds, then that means that the Kingdom is greatly affected.

I only wish I knew how badly, or what's causing it. But one thing's for sure: someone needs to inform Dipper and Mabel of the Ten Symbols Prophecy.

And fast.

**A/N: Guys, did you see the latest episode, "Not What He Seems?" I just can't get over how epic it was! ****This story's catching up to that episode. It should be in about five chapters, or so.**

**I hope you're enjoying it so far! :)**


	11. New Girl

**Caesar Cipher: I'm glad you love it so far :) Bill's one of my favorite characters in the show, so I like exploring his character a lot. You'll be seeing more of Bill's past in the upcoming chapters!**

**Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Bill's POV**

"Who would know about secret codes?"

I wave my hand to stir the wind in Gravity Falls. Pine Tree turns around, clutching the laptop close to him. I choose right now to slide my eye into the moon and summon my body from all angles. My body solidifies in one bright flash as everything turns black and white. "I think I know a guy!" I offer, my voice echoing.

Boy, I love dramatic entrances!

"Well, well, well," I say, "you're awfully persistent, Pine Tree. Hats off to you!" I make the world tilt as I tip my hat to the boy. When I set my hat back on my head, he lands on his butt on the roof. Ha!

"You again!" he shouts and points at me.

"Did you miss me?" I make a "cutesy" face, as Shooting Star would call it. "Admit it, you missed me!"

"Hardly! You worked for Gideon, you tried to destroy our uncle's mind!"

"It was just a job, kid," I tell him, floating upside down behind him. "No hard feelings." But it really hurts that he only sees me as a monster. I turn right side up and continue, "I've been keeping an **eye on you**, since then, and I must say I'm impressed." I clap my hands together and create a screaming head to give him. 'Kay, I admit, the twins didn't particularly care for this trick much either in the Kingdom.

Anyway, I've had my laugh. Snapping the head away, I say, "The point is I like you." I nudge him closer. "How's about you let me give you a hint, huh? I only ask for a small...**favor**, in return?" Unfortunately, Pine Tree refuses. "Well, if you ever change your mind, I'll be here for you, ready to make a deal." A hilarious thought pops into my head, and I say, "Hey, you wanna see an impression of you in about three seconds? _**AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

I step out of his mind and watch him freak out. Hahaha, I just love that!

"Psst!"

I whirl around. That supposedly came from behind me, but I don't see anything. Eh, probably just my imagi-

"_Bill!_"

Huh? I search all around the shack - the attic, the kitchen, the porch - but there's no one here. I land on the ground in front of the side window, wondering what -

"About time you got down here."

I turn around to see someone staring at me. "You can see me?" I ask.

The human girl nods, tugging on her black cardigan to smooth it out. "I need to talk to you," she says.

"About what, kid?" I pull out my cane and swing it around.

She narrows her eye that's not covered by pink-highlighted, brown bangs. "I'm not a kid," she says, crossing her arms. "I'm much older than I seem."

"Sure you are," I say. Surely, she can't be much older than Wendy.

Her green eye glows, and she yanks her hand down. I grunt as I'm pulled down by my bow tie. When she brings her fist in, I'm dragged closer to her. "I'm not human, Bill Cipher," she tells me, "even though I take on that appearance."

I can't help but look her over. She might be small, and her pink dress and black gloves, cardigan, and boots make her seem girly and dainty, but she glares at me with such intensity that she could hit me with a thousand knives if she'd simply thought it.

"Now," she says calmly, releasing me, "are we going to talk?"

Fixing my tie, I try to play this all off nonchalantly. "Sure, but be quick. I have something important to do."

"If it's about the royal twins, I have something important to do with them, too."

I stare at her, then blink and glare at her. "Did the King and Queen send you?"

"Of course not." She holds her hand up in defense. "I've never even met them."

I think about the swirling lights I saw on the world map earlier this week. Is this girl the cause of the lights? It occurs to me now that I don't even know her name. "Who are you?" I demand.

Her uncovered eye widens. I don't think she expected me to ask her that. "Pardon me?"

"You heard me. You know my name, so it's only fair I know yours."

"Um..." She glances at the shack behind me, the golf cart several yards away, the forest around us, anywhere but at me.

"Nice try, miss," I tell her, turning and floating away. "Next time, don't bother me unless-"

"What was your favor?"

I stop and glance back at her. "What?"

"What was your favor?" she asks again. "Does it involve the Prince and Princess? Will they be hurt?"

"Don't get your bow in a bunch." I fly back over to her. "They'll be fine."

She gives me a skeptical look. "But what about the Ten Symbol prophecy?"

I don't know how she knows about that - only I and the snotty Highnesses know that - but I tell her, "Those two are part of the prophecy. They'll be fine."

"Fine? Are you insane? They could die!"

"Hey!" I throw my hands out to create a circle of blue fire around her waist, binding her arms to her side. She gasps and freezes. My body turns red and my eye black as I seethe, "Don't talk about their deaths with me! I was there when they passed away, I will not see it happen again!" The fire dissipates with a clap of my hands, and the energy blast knocks the girl unconscious. Though she said she's not human, it still affects her like one.

If she could see me easily while I was in the mindscape, then she could warn Pine Tree and Shooting Star about me. My plans will work more easily if the twins just did that favor I wanted - if this girl's gonna meddle, then I'm gonna have to go to Plan B. But first, I gotta get rid of her. I scoop her up and drop her off in the forest near where the mailbox used to be. I turn to leave her - but glance back one last time at her. That shade of pink in her dress, that bow in her hair...they remind me of someone I once knew.

I blink back the memories and return to the shack, where Dipper heads inside the shack. I ignore the other kids in the yard and fly up to the attic window. A message on the laptop flashes that the data will erase in 5 minutes if the kid can't figure out the password. Looks like it's as great a time as any to make an entrance.

"Well, well, well," I say, the world fading to gray. Hands behind my back, I hover over to the center of the room. "Someone's looking desperate." I know I'm starting to feel desperate.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone," Pine Tree huffs.

"I can help you, kid, you just need to hear out my demands." I pull out my yellow cane and lean on it.

With a quick glance at the computer, the boy says, "What kind of crazy thing do you want anyway? To eat my soul? To rip out my teeth? Are you gonna replace my eyes with baby heads, or something?"

"Eesh, kid! Relax!" Boy, these kids come up with the craziest ideas. "All I want is a puppet!" I may not have to go to Plan B.

Dipper narrows his eyes. "What are you playing at?"

"Everyone loves puppets," I say. "And it looks to me like you've got a surplus." The kid's still not sure. I fly over to him and show several memories of events from earlier on this summer. "Besides, what's your sister done for you lately? How many times have you sacrificed for her, huh? And when has she ever returned the favor?" The seconds tick down: 13, 12, 11, 10 -

"Just one puppet? Fine!" Pine Tree and I shake hands. "So, which puppet are you gonna pick?"

"Hmm, let's see." I make a big show of it. "Eeny, meeny, miny...**you.**"

I yank the kid's soul out of his body and slip into the vessel. My limbs feel like lead as I merge with the fleshy vessel. I hear Pine Tree cry out, "This can't be happening! What did you do to my body?"

Slowly rising to my feet, I feel a smirk spread across my face. "Sorry, kid, but you're my puppet now!" I cackle as I throw the laptop onto the floor and step on it. Now, all I have to do is destroy the journal, show up at the palace as Dipper, and convince the King and Queen to tell me all those precious secrets they've got.


	12. Painful Memories

**Dipper's POV**

I can't believe I fell for Bill's trick! But you know what's even weirder? I had a dream a couple days ago where I was a ghost and was watching "me" doing random things.

You don't think...Nah, it's impossible. I can't see the future...But still...

Anyway, I gotta find Bill and stop him from destroying my journal. I lean forward and fly in the direction I saw the car take off. I have to get to the theater, I have to stop Bill, I have to -

Dark hedges appear on the road.

"Gah!" I sputter. As soon as I stop flying, the hedges disappear. Weird. I start flying again down the road until I reach downtown.

_"Alex!"_

Hearing that name makes me stop, but I don't know why. What's even stranger is I don't see anyone around. What the heck is going -

_BANG!_

Instinctively, I clutch my stomach - but there is no bullet wound. Mabel and I have that dream every other night, where we're running through the labyrinth and end up cornered by a guy who shoots us. Bill shows up and cries over us as we "die," and then there's the light and we wake up. But that's just a dream.

_"Alex! Ariel! Where are you?"_

That voice sounds so familiar...But how? I open my mouth to call out something in response.

I hiss and grab my head. It's pounding so hard, I feel like it's gonna explode. My ears start ringing until it's deafening. This is unlike anything I've ever felt, even when I was in my own body. I try grabbing onto something, anything, to help steady myself, but I just fall right through like a ghost. Head throbbing, ears buzzing...mind getting tired...must...keep...eyes open...

_I open them to see a huge, metal device in front of us. In the middle of the circle is swirling blue and white light. "Alex," I hear someone call. I turn my head and see a girl who looks a lot like Mabel, except her skin is tanner and she's wearing fancier clothes. She looks worried. "What do you think we'll find on the other side?" she asks._

_"I'm not sure," I admit, feeling butterflies in my stomach._

_Mabel's doppelganger fiddles with a ring on her right hand. "Let's say we're right, and we find some pyramans...what do we do then?"_

_Shrug. "I dunno, Ariel." I scratch my head. "Maybe we could just tell them what we found in the library and hope they can figure something out."_

_"But we're not telling Bill yet, right?"_

_Despite the anxiety we both feel at this endeavor, we exchange conspiratorial smirks. "Nope. It's gonna be a surprise for him for all he's done for us."_

_She holds her hand out to me. "We'll go together?"_

_"Together," I say, taking it in my equally tan hand. We turn to the swirling portal and I think the words "South Gate Portal" as we step through._

My eyes snap open, and I gasp for breath. What the heck was that? That dream made no sense at all. Pyramans, surprising Bill, portals...every single thing in this crazy dream is just weird. I put a hand to my forehead and massage it a little. I'll have to sort through all this tonight.

Wait, why is it so dark? I glance up at the sky. Shoot, it's sunset already! My heart starts racing as I realize how soon my sister's play is gonna start. If I'm gonna get back my journal and stop Bill, I gotta hurry. I throw my arms forward and zoom towards the theater downtown. When I get there, I spot Soos, Wendy, Grunkle Stan, and Bill in the front row. I hear Bill say, "Hey, Soos, wanna hear the exact time and date of your death?"

Ugh, creep. Don't any of them realize that's not me? Bill can't even imitate my voice right. Plus, his eyes - er, my eyes, are now tinted yellow. How can people not notice that?

I dive underneath their row. Mabel comes over to welcome everyone. "By the by, Mabel," I hear Bill say, "what did you do with my journal again?"

Hey, it's _my_ journal!

"I'm using it as a prop for the wedding scene," she eagerly says. "I still need a reverend, though."

"Hey, what if I play the reverend?" Bill offers.

Mabel leads Bill backstage. I fly out from under the seat and call for her to stop. She looks back - but only to peek through the curtain at the audience.

Bill, however, turns around. He smirks and bows to me. Before I can shout at him, Grenda's voice booms over the loudspeaker, "The show's about to begin!"

I turn to warn Mabel - where'd she go? She was at the curtain a second ago. How could she disappear so fast? I face front - Bill's gone, too!

Great. Now, how am I supposed to switch back?

* * *

_**Later, in Act 2...**_

**Mabel's POV**

I take a deep breath before stepping out of the dressing room. Puppet-Dipper left ten minutes before me to get set up backstage, so it's about time for me to go. I walk down the empty hallway, hoping no one rounds the corner and wonders why I'm here instead of onstage.

_"Ariel!"_

I stop, but I don't see anyone around. I glance back at the dressing room.

A man glares and aims a gun at me.

"Ahhh!" I stumble backwards and fall, crawling backwards.

The vision disappears.

My heart races as I get to my feet and run towards the wings. A sudden migraine makes me stop right before reaching the wings. I clutch my head and moan, crumpling to the ground.

_"Alex, I found the journal!"_

Is that my voice?

_"Great, Ariel, now let's get out of here before Mom and Dad find us!"_

That can't be Dipper...can it?

_I open my eyes and see a huge library before I run out into a hallway. I hug the journal tight as I hurry down the moonlit corridor, my shoes pounding the floor. I round a corner, but gasp when I see the vampire and gnome guards._

_"This way!" a boy who looks like a tanner version of Dipper hisses, tugging my arm and heading down another hallway. We run down more hallways and round more corners until we come to two tall doors. Tan Dipper opens one door enough for us to slip through before shutting the door and swiping his hand through the air to magically drag the desk in front of it. He turns around, eagerness shining in his eyes. "Let's look through the journal!"_

_I feel a grin spread across my face as I pry the book open. We both plop onto one of the plush beds as we flip through page after page. We stop when we get to an entry with several one-eyed triangles._

I gasp and open my eyes. "What was that?" I ask aloud, rubbing my forehead.

The audience applauds.

I scramble to my feet. How long did that vision last? Clambering up the ladder and dashing onto the walkway, I grin when I see the journal in the wedding cake. _Finally, this can all be over!_ I climb over the side and hang on to the railing with one hand, stretching towards the journal with the other. A little closer, a little closer...

I lose my grip and drop into the wooden cake, screaming. Something stops the cake from crashing, but I'm too busy flipping through the journal to pay attention to the cake, which is now rising. I mutter, "There has to be a way to get Dipper's body back."

"Ho ho, but why would you want to do that?"

I look up at my brother - er, Bill. "Bipper," I say, narrowing my eyes.

* * *

**Mystery Person's POV**

I groan and put a hand to my head as I push myself up. I can't believe Bill knocked me out! Just wait until I tell his dad what he's been up to!

No, I could never be that mean. Not after the apocalypse that shattered our home.

Guilt grips my stomach as I stand up, and for a moment, I feel like I'm going to throw up. I stumble to the nearest tree and lean against it as I heave deep breathes. The nausea passes. I wipe my forehead with the back of my gloved hand. I've been a human for several decades, you'd think I'd be used to this by now. I sink down the trunk of the tree until I'm sitting at the base, head in my hands. What am I gonna do? Bill needs to find the ten Symbols, not waste his time following the royal twins around.

Though what if he's right? What if the twins are part of the prophecy somehow? I interlace my fingers and rest my chin on top, staring out at the dark woods.

Dark woods? Is it nighttime already?

I spring to my feet - I immediately regret that as my vision darkens and my head feels fuzzy. Ugh, I gotta get outta here. After what feels like an hour, I finally make my way out of the woods. A yellow glow in the corner of my eye makes me turn my head towards the Mystery Shack - what's Bill doing by the attic window?

Ducking behind a tree, I watch him as he stares inside for a couple more moments before turning and drifting away, hands clasped in front of him. He looks...confused and maybe a little sad. What happened today?

It's not like I could go up to the kids and ask them even if I wanted to. They can't see me unless I enter their dreams, and I haven't dream-traveled in so long.

Bill blinks and huffs a sigh. He then creates a portal and disappears through it. Next time he does that, I'm gonna try to sneak through. I've never been to the Kingdom before, but I'm confident there's something there that can stop the apocalypse on this world and restore the fading magic in all the realms.

My eyes involuntarily shut as my mouth opens wide in a long yawn. I should head back to the small pyraman group. I hold up a hand, focus what little energy I have left in opening a portal. As I step through, I decide not to tell anyone - not even the Ciphers - what happened today.


	13. The Prisoner

"Dipper, we need to talk," Mabel says the first thing they get back to their room in the Mystery Shack.

Her brother groans, plops onto his bed. "Can it wait?" he moans, his voice muffled by the pillow over his face.

"I guess." She stares apologetically at her brother. If she hadn't been so boy crazy this week, he wouldn't be so tired or in so much pain. She kicks off her shoes and settles into her bed, pulling the covers to her chin, Waddles curling up beside her. "It was just about a weird vision I had today, that's all."

She closes her eyes, but a moment later, Dipper says, "I had a weird vision today, too. When I was trapped in the mindscape."

"I had mine during the play."

The twins sit up in bed, Dipper groaning a bit. "What was yours about?" He rubs his head.

"We found a journal in a library and found a page with a bunch of one-eyed triangles."

Dipper removes his hand, stares at his sister. "I had a vision where we were gonna jump through a portal. You said something about finding pyramans, or whatever, and I mentioned finding something in the library."

Mabel scratches her head. "Why are we seeing all these weird things? It's bad enough I saw that guy with the gun again, but-"

"You saw him, too?" her brother asks. She tells him about the glimpse she saw backstage and of hearing the names Alex and Ariel. "No way! I heard those names, too. Someone was calling for them...the voice sounded so familiar-" he winces as he touches his head, "but I can't tell who it is."

Waddles grunts in his sleep and rolls onto his back. Mabel absentmindedly rubs his belly. "Hope we figure all this out soon. I don't want those dreams any more."

"Me neither." With a yawn, Dipper falls back into his pillow. "We'll figure it out in the morning." Pulling the blanket over him, he curls up onto his side and falls fast asleep. Mabel starts to lie down before realizing she's still wearing her sweater and skirt. Quickly, she hops out of bed and changes into her nightgown, then settles back in bed. _Hope there's only one Bill_, she thinks, the page of triangles stuck in her mind. The visions and voices tumble around in her head until she drifts into a dreamless sleep.

Neither of them notice Bill turn away from the window, confused over these memories the twins are having. They have to be memories of their past lives - nothing else could be that bizarre - but how could they know about the other pyramans? He's the only one to survive the apocalypse. He's the only one they met. They couldn't have met other pyramans...could they?

After creating a portal back home, he decides to recruit some new help, preferably someone who can get into the library.

* * *

He looks up as the cell door opens, the King and Queen striding in with a few manotaur guards behind them. _Don't they ever smile?_ he wonders.

"We have looked over your request to leave," the King states, looking down his nose at the prisoner.

"Well?" the man says. He doesn't care if he sounds too gruff or rude - he's been here for thirty years and they know he's innocent. "Are you gonna let me out?"

"If by that you mean you're leaving the dungeon, then yes."

Silence persists for a minute before the prisoner snaps, "So, what's gonna happen to me?"

The Queen steps forward, sweeping her train aside. "We're sending you into exile in another world. You will no longer stay here."

"What?" He stumbles to his feet, grabs the King by the collar of his robe. "You know I'm innocent! Why are you sending me into exile? Just send me back to Gravity Falls!"

"That we cannot do," the King says, shoving the man off him. With a snap of his fingers, a couple of the manotaur guards step forward and grab the man's arms, lifting him up.

Struggling and writhing and kicking his legs in the air, he grunts, "Let me go! You can't do this!"

"We're sorry," the Queen says, though her steely gaze reveals otherwise. "But you have to go."

The manotaurs carry the prisoner out of the cell and start down the stone hallway. "No, you can't-"

An earthquake shakes the palace, half the torches lining the walls blowing out.

The King, Queen, and guards collapse to the ground, and the man seizes his opportunity, kicking at the manotaurs to release him and taking off down the hallway. "Stop him!" he hears the King's voice demand, though he just picks up his pace and rounds the corner. "Don't let him escape!"

More manotaurs and vampires pile in from the doors lining either side. Hisses and roars fill the air as they charge at him. He tries to recollect the old fighting moves he and his brother used to do, and he slides underneath the creatures, swiping at some of their legs to make them fall. He gets back up and blocks a swing from a vampire, punching him in the nose. More creatures come than he can fight on his own, but he curls his hands into fists and sets one foot in front of him, ready to fight to the death. They lunge at him.

Everything freezes as a gray shimmer fills the air. The man glances about him. "What the-"

"Hurry up, Six Fingers!" Bill says, swinging his cane at the foot of the stairs to his left. "The time spell won't last forever!"

"You!" He glares at the triangle.

"Long time, no see." He touches the brim of his hat and bows his head.

"Why should I trust you?" he seethes, pointing at the dream demon. "You tormented Fiddleford and tried to destroy our minds!"

"I was just following orders," Bill says, waving his cane away into thin air. "No hard feelings."

He grumbles. "What do you want?"

"Look, we both don't like the King and Queen, so I'm helping you get out of this bunch."

"What's the catch?" He crosses his arms and narrows his eyes.

"You owe me a favor. I was gonna have that Gideon kid do it, but then he called off our deal. So, you're the lucky guy!" Bill sets his hands where his hips should be. "But if you tell the King and Queen I helped you escape, the deal's off and I'm sending you back to the dungeon."

The six-fingered man hesitates before saying, "What exactly is this deal?"

"Why spoil the surprise? Okay, okay," he adds when he receives a piercing glare. "You've heard of the Ten Symbols prophecy, right?"

"What's that?"

Bill facepalms. "Boy, those royals sure are making this harder. Basically, the ten symbols relate to ten people who can help me stop the apocalypse."

"Stop it?" The man frowns. "I thought you wanted to cause an apocalypse. The King and Queen-"

"Don't listen to them," Bill interrupts, glaring. "You of all people should know not to trust them."

The air shimmers, the gray starting to fade. The demon drags the man behind him as he flies up the stairs and into one of the main hallways. "I can't stay long, or they'll be onto me," he tells the six-fingered human. "But there's a book in the library that explains more about the prophecy. And since you're taking the pudgy kid's spot, you're gonna have an extra job to do."

"Which is?"

"No spoilers," Bill huffs, narrowing his eye and crossing his arms. "I already told you plenty." A chorale of hisses, roars, and shouting rises from the staircase. "Besides, you've gotta get outta here if you wanna avoid exile."

Before the man takes off, he says, "Why are you really helping me?"

The triangle hesitates before saying, "I want those kids to live." He zooms down the hallway.

"Get that prisoner!" the King's voice demands. He takes off down the other end of the hallway. By the time he reaches the end and rounds the corner, he's out of breath. Before he returns to Gravity Falls, he needs to shape up.

_Find the library. Find the library. _Those words echo in his head as he pumps his arms harder, his worn shoes pounding the marble floor. He can hear the guards gaining on him. Randomly, he chooses one of the doors lining the hallway and opens it enough to slip inside, leaning against the door to shut it. He holds his breath, fearful that even a tiny gasp could get him caught. The roaring fades to distant grumbles before he releases his breath in a sigh, sliding down the door until he's sitting. Coughing a couple times, he runs his fingers through his messy gray hair. How is he going to get back home?

It then dawns on him that this room is really well-lit. His eyes focus through his cracked glasses on the gleaming metal around him. He's in an armory. At first, he gazes around him in bewildered speculation, then his face settles into a look of determination. He can just take one of these guns to use if and when he needs to. He gets to his feet to examine a wall full of rifles.

As he browses the artillery, the six-fingered man can't help but remember the snippets of dialogue he'd catch from the King and Queen whenever they came down to the dungeon. They would speak softly to each other when they thought he was asleep, and he recalls them discussing how to maintain peace in the Kingdom to avoid any kind of war or apocalypse.

But if the King and Queen were so concerned about preventing violence, why is there a whole room full of deadly weapons?


	14. Pieces

"I don't like this," the Queen says, flipping absentmindedly through her book.

Without looking up from his chess game, the King says, "What, my dear?"

"The prophecy."

He looks up at her, one hand frozen over a pawn. "The Ten Symbols prophecy?"

"Not that one." She shuts her book, lays it in her lap. "The Triad prophecy."

She refuses to look at her husband, even when he leaves his game to sit near her on the bed. She tosses her book onto the pillow next to her, but she fiddles with her rings and bracelets rather than meet his eyes. "Darling, listen to me. The Triad prophecy is void now. Nothing is going to happen to the monarchy."

"Then, why do I feel like a dark storm is coming?" Finally, she looks up. "I'd feel much better if we caught that prisoner soon."

"And we will." He takes her hand. "He couldn't have gotten far, my dear. It's just a matter of time before we find him."

Staring at their hands, the Queen begins rubbing her husband's hand with her thumb, giving a little pout. "I just don't want him to escape and ruin all our hard work. If anyone from the other realms find out, it'll mean the end of the Kingdom."

"They won't find out." He lifts her hand to his lips, kissing her fingertips. "We have the pyraman on our side. We can always convince him to scramble people's minds when things get out of hand." Cupping her chin, he adds, "We also have that hidden weapons room. If necessary, we can create an army and send them out into the different realms to correct things."

The Queen removes his hand from her chin and holds it tight to her bosom, a soft smile on her face. "You would do that?"

"Anything for you, darling." He kisses her. "We have to make sure nothing can hurt our children again." Another kiss. "Or turn them against us." Magically shutting the doors with a wave of her hand, the Queen pulls him into bed, kissing him hard.

The six-fingered man frantically waves his hands, making the magic orb disappear. "It'll be tough getting that out of my head," he mutters, lifting his glasses to rub his eyes. He sighs and lowers his hand to look down at the open book on the table. He came upon this book while searching the library for the book Bill told him about. In this one is a spell to create magic orbs to watch events, past or present - and he was trying to spy on the King and Queen to find a way to get back at them.

Now that he overheard their plan, he has to tell Bill. He still doesn't completely trust that triangle, but they both hate the King and Queen. Plus, Bill said something about wanting the kids to stay alive. He knows about the Prince and Princess who died a long time ago. He remembers leaving his twin and Fiddleford on the other side of the portal to warn the kids about the bad man. Rumors spread that Bill cast a spell to reincarnate the kids some day.

After Bill's strange behavior yesterday and hearing the royals' plan to unleash an army to take back their kids, he is positive the kids are alive. He doesn't know who they are, but if he can find a way to cross back into Gravity Falls, he can get the old gang back together to find the kids and warn them about the darkness approaching. He can expose the King and Queen and help the kids change the Kingdom.

The six-fingered man shuts this book, tempted to stuff it into the long, black coat he stole from one of the vampire guards. A minute later, he decides to put it back. He searches down row after row of the enormous library until somewhere near the back, in the middle of the top shelf of a bookcase, he finds the book containing prophecies. Quickly grabbing it, he slides down the tall, tall ladder, hopping off just before reaching the bottom. He sits down by the bookcase and flips through the pages. Numerous prophecies fill the pages, some dramatic ones, some ridiculous ones, some from long ago...

There! The Ten Symbols prophecy! He wants to brush up on it before meeting Bill. His brow furrows as he pours over the prophecy. Gears click in his head as the pieces of the mystery start falling into place. He spots the six-fingered hand on the symbol wheel. _Could that be me?_ Pushing these thoughts aside for now, he flips through the book until he finds the pages on the Triad prophecy. A couple paragraphs into the prophecy, he frowns. Halfway through, he glares. By the time he finishes reading it, he practically seethes. Does Bill Cipher know anything about the Triad prophecy? It would explain a LOT about why he hates the royals so much.

Slamming the book shut, he tucks it into one of the inside pockets of his long, black coat. He checks the rifle he stole from the weapons room to make sure it will work in case he runs into any more guards, then sneaks out of the library and down the hallway. For the first time in his life, he wants to find Bill - maybe they could work together to bring the kids back here and depose the King and Queen.

* * *

They enter the room, shutting the door quietly behind them. Nerves tingling, they glance all around them to make sure there is no one around. Assured they are alone, they move towards the vending machine. It swings open of its own accord, creaking, revealing a staircase leading downstairs. Step after step, they make their way down to a short hallway, at the end of which is an elevator. Next to it is a box whose lid swings open, revealing a keypad with alchemic symbols. Four symbols appear, and the elevator opens. They glide inside, the elevator automatically shutting and taking them down, down, down.

On the bottom-most floor, the doors open, letting them out into a hall with computers, scanners, and electrical devices. Passing the totem pole periscope, they see three figures up ahead, their backs to them as they stare at the giant, brightly glowing disc on the wall. The two join the three, and they watch as electricity crackles, the portal almost open.

A strong voice yells from behind the group, and everyone turns around to see a man in a suit charging the oldest of the three. The two newcomers do not flinch as the man leaps through their ghostly bodies to knock the old man to the ground - well, he attempted to knock the man to the ground, but gravity seems to disappear, levitating the four grown men. The ghostly viewers frown as the three friends fight with the bad man, none of them aware of the portal's opening until a light blinds them. When the light subsides, the four men drop to the ground, the ghostly twins staring at the world beyond the portal. Two small figures appear in the portal, their images focusing as they step out into the lab. Judging by their fancy attire and the glittering circlets atop their heads, the two kids look like royalty. The ghostly twins gawk at the smiling royal twins as they approach the men and introduce themselves as -

"Kids! Breakfast is ready!" Grunkle Stan hollers from the first floor.

Dipper and Mabel jerk awake, but remain lying in their beds, staring up at the ceiling. "Hey, Mabel?" Dipper asks, his voice cracking.

"Yeah, Dipper?"

"Did you dream about a government agent attacking three scientists, and two royal twins that look almost exactly like us?"

"Uh-huh."

Silence.

"What do you think it means?"

"I dunno, Mabel." He frowns at the wall bordering his bed. "I don't know."

* * *

**Mystery Person's POV**

My eyes shoot open, staring at the dawn-colored sky overhead. I haven't dream-traveled in a long time - and yet, I could see Six Fingers and the royal twins in my mind. Pieces of the puzzle click as I play through in my mind Six Fingers' discoveries in the library and the memory-dreams of the twins. Now, Bill's behavior makes sense. Pushing myself up to a sitting position, I decide to try and summon him today. Maybe we can help each other out.

Another pyraman stirs to my right. I shake my head to toss my bangs out of my face, watching the green triangle as he sits up. "Rosie?" he mumbles, his body softly glowing as he rubs his eye and straightens his top hat. "Why are you up so early?"

"It's nothing," I say, not wanting to involve Bill's parents in this so soon. They have enough to worry about with trying to find a permanent new home for the surviving pyramans. "Just go back to sleep."

"Okay." Bill's father plops back onto his back.

I release my breath, not realizing until now I was holding it. Rising to my feet and stretching, I dust off my dress and straighten my bow before making my way into the burnt forest, away from the sleeping pyramans. When I find Bill and we take care of the royal twins, we're going to give these pyramans a new home - a better home - than the charred fragments of their old world to live in.


	15. Ghost

**Bill's POV**

I urge myself to fly faster. The Prince and Princess' lives are at stake! If only I hadn't been so caught up in my plan to take over the Kingdom, I would've stopped the kids from crossing the forbidden portal, kept them away from harm. But now, that monster is on the loose, pursuing the kids deeper into the labyrinth. I urge myself to go faster. I have to find the kids and get them out!

Except, the labyrinth is really huge. One could easily get lost in here if he were not careful. I don't slow down, the center of the labyrinth all I can think about. I'm pretty sure the kids are there. Where it took many others months, even years, to find their way to the center of the labyrinth, it took the twins a mere couple of weeks. Those little kids are smart, I'm sure they made it safely to...to...

Something in my peripheral vision makes me glance down - and I freeze. Blood. A river of blood. I follow the current with my eye as it trickles down what used to be a dry, dusty path.

My stomach knots when I realize the bloody river is heading towards the center of the labyrinth.

"_My friends had you figured out_," a disembodied voice says. "_Yeah, they saw what's inside of you. Trying to hide in another you, but your evil is coming through_."

"No, that's not me!" I shout, resuming flying towards the center. "It's that human! _He's_ the monster!"

"_These eyes sitting on the walls_," says another voice, this one female, "_they watch every move you make._" Only then do I recognize other pyramans sitting on top of or hovering above the hedges. Old friends, neighbors...when I spot my parents, I slow down to an almost stop.

My father's green body glows with each word as he says, "_Bright light living in this shade. Your cold heart makes our spirits shake._"

I tear my gaze away, blinking rapidly so tears can't form. Why would my own father call me cold-hearted? What did I ever do? Zooming as fast as I can away from the watchful pyramans, I turn down the left hallway.

Several corridors and rounded corners later, I spot the human, a knife in his hand. The human turns around right when I punch him hard in the nose. The monster cries out, dropping the weapon onto the ground. "You stay away from those kids!" I scream, summoning blue fire in my hands.

The human chuckles darkly.

"SHUT UP!" I hurl a fire ball. It dissipates into a glowing spark before fizzing out. That's never happened before. Growling, I try again and again, but I can't throw an effective ball of fire. Each time I fail, the monster laughs harder.

"_Had to meet the devil just to know his name_," he sneers, his eyes narrow and ice cold.

"I'm a demon, pal!" I spit, glaring and pointing an accusing finger at the human. "And if anyone's the devil around here, it's you!"

I don't flinch when the human charges at me, a crazed expression on his face. "_I had to go through hell to prove I'm not insane!_" he shouts, as if this justifies his trying to kill the twins.

The twins! I shoot straight up right when the monster lunges at me, making him dive headfirst into the hedge with his legs sticking out. Wishing I could stay and laugh at the man's humiliation, I fly faster than I've ever flown before towards the center of the labyrinth. Almost there, almost there, almost there -

I screech to a halt, landing on the ground. That's odd. Shouldn't the royal twins be right here? Hiding behind that one potted plant right there, or cowering under that bench over there? But no matter how meticulously I search the little resting area here at the center of the labyrinth, the twins are nowhere to be found. My heart pounds when I check for the fifth time behind a broken statue.

The sight of blood makes me jump. My gaze trails the scarlet trickle to the river suddenly flowing through the center, entering one of the hallways. "No..." In a yellow blur, I follow the river of blood down the hallway, turning left at the end.

Seeing the royal twins standing ankle-deep in the river makes me shudder. "What are you doing?" I screech at the smiling kids. "You have to get out of there now!" Though I want to rush forward and yank them out of the river, I just hover in one place.

"_Give up the ghost_," they say simultaneously.

"What do you mean?" I look about me for rope, a boat, something to get these kids out of the blood, which has now risen to their knees, staining their white clothes.

"_Give up the ghost_," they repeat. Their smiles and twinkling eyes make this that much more eerie.

I want so badly to move forward and grab them and hold them tight to me so we can fly out of here together - but all I can move is my hands, which I stretch out to them as I fight against some sort of force holding me back. It's like moving through cheese.

My heart races as the bloody river rises to their hips, and the twins do nothing to escape. "No! Alex! Ariel! **Hold on!**"

The blood now stains their waists, their chests, their shoulders. "_Stop the haunting_," they tell me calmly. The blood rises to their throats.

"**_Nooooooo!_**" My voice sounds hoarse, and when I glance down, my whole being chills to see the bloody river trapping me as well. My heart pounds when I stare back up at the twins - the river has almost submerged them.

"_Stop the haunting_," they reply before the blood overtakes them.

I thrash and fight my way through the river to where they stood a moment ago - and though it's only a couple yards away, it feels like an hour has passed by the time I reach it. I can't see through the blood to the bottom, and my powers still aren't working, so there go my chances of scanning the riverbed. With a huge breath, I shut my eye and plunge into the river, feeling around for an arm, a head, a crown, anything.

Finally, my fingers touch one of the twins' noses, and I squint my eye open - the river of blood is gone, as well as the labyrinth. The twins' corpses lie before me in this empty void of darkness. I want to scream, to call for help - but I can't get my voice to work. As much as I want to tear my gaze from their limp, still bodies and their bloody, torn clothes, I can't.

I don't have to turn around to recognize that dark chuckle behind me. Even his laughter is dripping with his maliciousness. My body glows bright red as I slowly turn around to face the human. "_Each time that I think you go_," he taunts, "_I turn around and you're creeping in_."

"You won't get away with this!" Great, now my voice decides to work again. I throw my hands out to the side - still no blue fire. With a low growl, I clench my fists.

He laughs. "_You never told them true love was gonna hurt_." The monster motions to the dead children behind me. "_True pain they don't deserve - truth is that you never learn_."

I almost deny everything he said - but it's true: the kids didn't deserve this fate. "You caused their pain! **You **did this to them!"

Before I can charge the monster and strangle him, he narrows his eyes and repeats, "_Truth is that you never learn_."

A ball of magic fades in between us, showing scenes from Gravity Falls. There's those three scientists. Ha, I remember messing around with that older one, Fiddlefern, or whatever his name was. The scene changes to show the Prince and Princess approaching the South Gate Portal thirty years ago. Wait, why are there no guards there? Well, this is stupid. The King and Queen said there had to be someone watching the portal gate at all times. That's why they had rotating shifts, so -

Wait. Oh, %$#&amp;! I slap my face as I remember that that night thirty years ago - the night that changed everything - was _my_ shift! Why the heck wasn't I...oh, wait. Yeah, now I remember. I was too caught up in my plans to notice something was wrong until the twins crossed the portal.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! They wouldn't have died if I had just done my job!

Parting my fingers enough for me to peep through, I watch the next scene, where I meet Pine Tree, Shooting Star, and Question Mark in Crescent Claw's mindscape. I watch as I warn them to turn around before they saw something they would regret. I feel my stomach drop. I had no idea that I said that so...threateningly. I was just trying to warn them about the different memories in the maze. The next scene shows me tricking Pine Tree into a deal so I could possess his body...then it shows me fighting Shooting Star over the journal. Ugh, did I seriously just say that I didn't have a weakness?

If that were true, wouldn't I be feeling better about myself right now?

Those kids were in danger because of me - still in danger because of me. As the magic ball fades out, I wonder if there's maybe even a small chance to - yow! That human knocks me back when he jumps through the remnants of the magic orb, banging my head on the ground.

"_You never learn_," he seethes, lifting a dagger high above me before plunging it down.

I shoot up in my bed, panting heavily as I gaze about me. It's dark, but moonlight pours through the window, eliminating my armchair, the fireplace, the coffee table littered with papers and files containing all my domination plans. Though I sigh in relief when I realize I just had a bad nightmare, I also wince in guilt. What have I done? I never knew - never even thought - that I could ever hurt the twins. They're the only royals I like, and I **don't **want them ending up like their parents.

But I did. And now -

KNOCK! KNOCK!

I groan. What could Six Fingers possibly want at this time of night? Shouldn't he be in hiding, anyways? Sliding out of my bed and floating to the door, I decide that if the King and Queen find out I hired him to do a job for me, I'm denying everything and handing him over. "Well, well, well," I say when I open the door, leaning against the doorframe with my arms crossed. "Look who it is. Nice coat, by the way. Did ya snatch it from one of the guards?"

Six Fingers glares at me, but he says, "I'm here to make a deal."

Considering my last deal was with Pine Tree (and look how that turned out), I'm not so keen on making deals right now. I drag a hand down my face, saying, "Look, it's late at night, and I'm still shaken up from...something." There's no way I will ever admit that I had a nightmare. "Can this wait until morning?"

He blinks, shocked to hear me put off a deal. "Uh, sure, yeah. Just as long as it's first thing in the morning."

"Yeah, sure, whatever, Six Fingers." I yawn.

He glances over his shoulder. "Look, I still don't trust you, but is it possible for me to-"

"No, don't even think about hiding out here. If the King and Queen find you here, they'll know I helped you escape, and then we're both in trouble."

"Fine," he says curtly. "I'll just go sleep in the forest." He storms away.

Deliberating a moment, I stick my head out and call out softly, "There's a faun who lives just inside the forest. Tell him Bill Cipher sent you, and he'll let you stay."

He hesitates before replying over his shoulder, "Thanks."

Now, no one can't say that I never do anything nice. After shutting the door, I just hover there, resting my head flat on the wooden surface. That nightmare replays in my mind, sending chills throughout my triangular body. I also saw my parents - I haven't dreamed about them since a couple years after the apocalypse that destroyed my home. I blink back the tears that sting my eyes when I recall that they said my cold heart upset them.

But nothing was more gut-wrenching than having to watch the twins die again. And they just kept saying, "Give up the ghost...Stop the haunting." My brain is still too tired to overanalyze those lines, so, slouching, I head back to my bed and settle back in. I don't fall asleep right away, just stare up at the ceiling. I don't think, I don't concentrate, I just stare at the dusty wooden ceiling above me.

Five minutes later, my eye begins to droop, but not before I think, _I need something that can wash all the pain. And at most, I'm sleeping all these demons away. But your ghost..._

_The ghost of you, it keeps me awake._

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is inspired by the song "Ghost" by Ella Henderson and uses lines taken from the song as the dialogue in the nightmare and Bill's last thoughts before drifting off to an uneasy sleep. I changed a couple words so that the song would fit the chapter better and switched a couple lines around, so it's not in order.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter all the same! :)**


	16. Looking Into the Past

After a long day of helping Soos with his date with Melody and fighting a bunch of animatrons brought to life, Mabel and Dipper relax in their attic room. Well, they relax as best as they can while discussing their latest dreams. "We still don't know who that guy with the gun is, right?" Dipper asks, clicking his pen off and on.

"Nope," Mabel says, sitting next to her brother on his bed. Both of them stare at the page in Journal #3 where they keep all their notes and theories of their mysterious dreams. She points at a blank space on the page. "Don't forget to put down Alex and Ariel."

"Right," he says, jotting the names down. "So, from what we have so far-" he starts chewing on the pen, "-Alex and Ariel look like us, but tanner-"

"And they look all royal," Mabel adds, hugging her knees to her chest and leaning her back against the wall. "Then, they found a book in a library that talked about a bunch of one-eyed triangles-"

"And then they found out something," Dipper continues. He stops chewing and meets his sister's eyes. "Something so important it was worth crossing that south portal door, or whatever."

"South Gate Portal," Mabel corrects.

"Right." He writes that in the journal. "So, they cross the portal and end up in some weird-looking lab, where one of the guys there tried to attack them, but then Bill showed up and punched that one guy in the face."

"Hey, Dipper," Mabel says, resting her chin on her knees, "doesn't that guy look familiar? The one Bill punches and then ends up chasing us through the labyrinth with the gun?"

The pen freezes above the page as Dipper considers this. "You mean the guy in that black suit and the black mustache?"

"Yeah, him."

"He does seem a little familiar."

"Hey, kids!" Stan calls from downstairs. "There's a Ducktective marathon on right now!"

"No thanks!" the twins shout at the same time. They stare at each other and laugh.

"Seriously, though," Mabel says when her brother yawns widely, "we should probably get some sleep."

"Agreed." Bookmarking his place, Dipper sets the journal on the bedside table, resting the pen on top. He settles into bed and pulls the covers up to his chin as his sister goes over to her bed. When she wraps her sheets around her like a cocoon, Dipper reaches over and turns off the lamp. He lays his head on his pillow, but neither twin falls asleep yet.

"Hey, Dipper?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that Bill might actually be a good guy?"

"I don't think so. I mean, he tried to ruin Stan's mind, he took over my body and tried to destroy the journal..."

"I guess." Silence for a minute. "It's just, Alex and Ariel said they were gonna surprise Bill for all he did for them...What do you think that means?"

Shrug. "Maybe they wanted to get back at him for something." But somehow, he knows that isn't the right answer.

* * *

Agent Powers straightens his black suit and smooths his black mustache before turning to Agent Trigger. "Any new breaks?" he asks.

The younger agent shakes his head, typing away on his laptop. "Negative, sir. Still trying to download the dialogue the machine in the Shack recorded."

"Very good. I'm going to call it a night." He fishes the car keys out of his pocket, drops them on the table near Trigger's elbow. "See you back at the hotel." Without waiting for a response, Powers turns on his heel and walks straight out of the study room in the library. His mind is swimming with so many thoughts, he doesn't pay attention to the people around staring at him. When he pushes open the door and steps outside, he inhales deeply, catching the faint scent of pine. The cold night air feels refreshing on his warm cheeks, cools his temper.

It feels so good for him to get a walk in today. It helps him process everything and come to conclusions. Hands curling into fists and then releasing them, Powers ponders over the Pines family. He knows that old man is up to something - he wonders if the geezer has anything to do with his father's disappearance thirty years ago. He has been waiting for this opportunity for so long, to find the truth of what happened to his dad.

Powers keeps a steely expression in public, but as soon as he steps inside the hotel and secures himself within his room, he frowns at the door. Hesitating a moment, he draws out a piece of paper from his inner breast pocket. Something he has kept with him for thirty years. Turning around and sliding down the door until he is sitting on the floor, Powers unfolds the crumpled paper once more to read the scrawled words: "My son, I'm sorry I can't make it to your big game. As soon as I finish up here in Gravity Falls, I'll come home and take you for some ice cream to celebrate. I found something big here - something you won't believe! I'll take you here sometime. Dad"

Only a week after receiving this postcard, Henry Powers was told that his father wasn't coming home. The government couldn't tell if he died or simply disappeared - but twelve-year-old Henry felt that something had taken his dad away from him. He vowed that he would never rest until he knew what happened to his father. And about the secret of this town that his father sought to expose.

When someone knocks on the door, Agent Powers blinks rapidly, clearing his throat and dabbing at his eyes as he stands up. "Come in," he says, folding up the postcard and tucking it back in his pocket. He sits himself on his bed right when the door opens and Trigger slips inside.

"I think I might have found something," the young agent says, setting his laptop on the table. Taking off his coat and tie and draping them on the chair by the table, he plops onto his back on his own bed. "Ah, it feels so good to lie down after a long day." He smiles.

"What did you find?" Powers asks, crossing his arms.

Still on his back, Trigger explains with his hands in the air, "The children don't seem like much of a threat. They just want to help their friend find a girlfriend. Mister Pines, however, kept mumbling something that took forever to decipher. But I think it sounded something like he had to keep working on something, make sure something activated on time."

Powers steels his jaw, but Trigger doesn't notice. "Did he say what it is he's working on?"

"No, only that it had to work."

"...Very well. Tomorrow we'll do investigations around the Mystery Shack."

Trigger tilts his head to see his older partner. "How will we do that without being spotted?"

"We'll keep watch until they exit the shack. Then we go in."

Agent Trigger doesn't think this is a good idea, that they should leave the family and their home alone - but he was lucky that Agent Powers chose him to be his protegé, and he looks up to Powers so much, he doesn't want to seem incapable of keeping up with his mission. "Alright, sir." He turns his head to see his balding mentor. _I wonder what he's thinking_, he wonders. On the trip to this town, Powers had told him that the last time they picked up on strange readings in this area, the government had sent an agent to investigate - but he never returned. Turning onto his side away from his mentor, Trigger frowns at the wall. What if they get so caught up in this mission that something happens to them, too? What if history repeats itself, and they will disappear like the old agent did?

His stomach churns. _I really hope not._


	17. Striking a Deal

**Six Fingers' POV**

Drumming my fingers on the cover of the prophecy book, I stand in front of the door to Bill Cipher's house. If you can even call it a house. It seems more like a tiny cottage. How the dream demon stands living in such meager conditions, I have no idea.

Finally, the demon answers my urgent knocks. "Well, well, well," he says upon answering the door. "Look who's in such a big hurry. I'd tip my hat off to you, but-"

"Let's cut the formalities," I snap, peeking over my shoulder. "We need to talk now." I shoulder my way past Bill into his...would he hit me if I call this place a hovel?

"Eesh, Six Fingers, relax," Bill says, shutting the door and rolling his eye. He turns to me, crossing his arms. "No need to rush. No one's gonna find you."

"We can't be too sure."

"I told some fairies to create a diversion in the palace. Everyone's gonna be focusing on that for a while." He floats past me to the center of the room.

"Wait a minute," I say, glancing around me. "Is this whole house just one room?"

"Wow, you're observant," Bill says, floating over to an armchair by the fireplace. Propping his feet on the coffee table and crossing his ankles, he motions to the other chair across from him. "And before you ask, I picked this place out. It was either this or the palace."

"So naturally, you chose the option that's farthest away from the King and Queen," I voice, making my way to the empty chair and sitting myself down.

"Bingo! Here, have a box of slimy cockroaches as a prize." With a snap of his fingers, a box of six humongous, green-covered cockroaches appears in my lap.

"Ugh!" I grimace and hold the book up away from that cockroach in the corner of the box twitching its feeler towards it. Bill cackles, and with a clap of his hands, the box vanishes along with the filthy roaches. I glare at the triangle. "What was that for?"

"I like doing tricks on people. The royal twins used to love it." He then stares at the coffee table - am I mistaken, or does he seem a little sad?

Clearing my throat, I say, "Anyway, I have something to discuss with you."

"Right." Bill rests his hands behind his head. "You said last night you wanted to make a deal. I'm listening."

Making sure I'm not going insane, I place the book on the table and push it towards the dream demon. "I found the book of prophecies. There are two things I want to talk about. First, the Ten Symbols prophecy."

"I already know about that," Bill says, waving his hand dismissively.

I narrow my eyes at him so much, I'm almost squinting. "You didn't even bother to tell me I was part of it?"

"I thought you liked finding things out on your own." Bill looks right at me. "That's why you lived all alone in the Gravity Falls forest for all those years, right?"

How did he know that? Before I can say anything, he says, "I've been watching over that town longer than you've lived there." He rolls his eye. "King's orders."

"Why?"

Removing his feet from the table, Bill drops his arms so they hang over the sides of his chair. "Those two egomaniacs believed that Gravity Falls was the most dangerous of all the realms, so they had it guarded constantly...It's why they told the twins never to cross through the portal." Bill droops, staring at the floor.

I remember that night. Thirty years ago, I saw those two children emerge from the portal. Judging by the way they dressed, it was no surprise they were royalty. After being thrown in the dungeon in this dimension and hearing scraps of gossip, I learned that the twins died and that the gateway to Gravity Falls was even more guarded, no one allowed to cross either way without explicit permission from the King and Queen.

"If the portal was that serious before, though," I can't help but ask, "how did those kids cross through?"

At first, I don't think he's going to answer, but then Bill tenses and gives me a pointed look. "Don't ever ask me that again." His voice is low and dangerous.

"Alright, fine." I wonder what's going on through that demon's mind. Eh, I've got too much right now to worry about than what he's thinking about. "The second thing is, do you know about the Triad Prophecy?"

"What the heck is the Triad Prophecy?" He looks confused.

Again, I push the prophecy book closer to him, ignoring the other papers and files on the table. "I found another book that showed a spell to create magic orbs to spy on people, and I overheard the King and Queen talking about the Triad Prophecy. They said that if necessary, they were gonna use you to scramble people's minds and send an army out to find their kids. The Queen was really worried about the Triad Prophecy coming true." When Bill still doesn't touch the book, I add, "I think you and I are part of the Triad Prophecy."

"What?" Now, he grabs the book. I tell him the page the prophecy is on, and once he flips there, he starts reading. His brow furrows, then he glares, then his body turns red as he reads the entire prophecy. I tap my fingers on the arms of the chair, ready to jump out if Bill should blow his top. Though after reading through the prophecy, how can I blame him?

Sure enough, he slams the book shut, singeing it where his hands touch the cover as fire starts forming in his hands, spreading up his arms. I hop out of my chair and crouch behind it as Bill's whole body flames. **"What. Have. They. _DONE?!"_** I shut my eyes tight when the room fills with a blinding light, feel beads of sweat form on my forehead from the heat from the fire. A few seconds pass before the temperature and light return to normal. I open one eye to see the whole interior charred. Opening both eyes, I peek over the back of the smoking chair. Bill remains standing, panting, fire balled in his hands, his body glowing red.

**"They KNEW!"** Bill seethes, and I raise an arm up in case he should throw a scorching fireball at me. Instead, he starts pacing in the air. **"They knew the apocalypse was coming on my world! They knew people were going to die! And they did NOTHING!"**

I duck to avoid a fireball, which ends up hitting the far wall and dissipating into a shower of bright embers.

**"They let my world be destroyed, and they kept me separated from everyone I cared about! And they trapped me here!"** I freeze when Bill shoots me a glare worth a thousand daggers. **"They said that as long as I stayed here and served the royal family, I WOULD NOT SUFFER THE SAME FATE AS MY FAMILY!"** He kicks at the chair he was sitting in only moments before.** "For centuries, I stayed here, watching over that puny little town as the royals just did whatever they wanted! And ALL the royals knew!" **He raises his arm as if to throw another fireball, but then faces me, forming his hands into claws and shaking them in my direction. **"They have good reason to fear the Triad Prophecy! As soon as I team up with a set of twins, the three of us can end this reign of terror FOREVER!"**

"They thought I was one of the twins mentioned in the prophecy," I say, smoothing out my black coat. "That's why they kept me locked up in the dungeon for so long. That's why I wanted to come here and make a deal: if you help me return home to Gravity Falls, I will help you with the Triad Prophecy."

Bill blinks, the red fading back to yellow as he straightens his hat and bow tie. "You'll really fulfill the prophecy? Just like that?"

"Somehow," I say, stiffening and crossing my arms. "I still don't trust my brother, so I'm not sure how this will work. But if you help me get back home, I promise I will do everything I can to get Stanley to help me help you."

We meet each other's eyes, neither blinking or looking away. Finally, the demon flies over to me, holding his hand out in a blue flame. "It's a deal."

_"Bill Cipher, I summon you..."_

We stare at each other. That sounded like a girl's voice, but -

"Whoa!" Bill's eye widens as he moves backwards towards a dark portal opening behind him.

"Bill, wait!" I shout over the roar of the wind. "What about our deal?"

"I can't break a summon!" he shouts back, being pulled closer and closer to the portal.

No! I can't let him get away! I need to return home to Gravity Falls! I lunge forward and grab his hand with the blue fire, sealing our deal and my fate as we both disappear through the portal.


	18. Rosie

_"Come closer," he said._

_Rosie flew a few feet towards the strange person. He wasn't a triangle, he didn't glow when he spoke, and he had two eyes. Something shaggy and brown sat atop his head rather than a hat, and his arms weren't solid black at all. "Wh-What are you?" she asked._

_His chuckle was low and deep, and it sent a chill through her. "I am human, young one."_

_Her emerald green eye widened. "I've heard of your kind. You're supposed to be very curious and hardworking, right?"_

_"One could say that," the human said, pulling his cloak further around him._

_"Why are you hiding behind a tree?"_

_"I don't want anyone else seeing me - at least not right now. I just want to talk with you."_

_"Rosie!" she could hear her mom calling. "Where are you?"_

_"I can't talk," the little pink triangle said, floating backwards. "I gotta go." She turned to leave._

_"Oh, no, it's okay," he said. "I get it. You need to be a good little girl and not talk to strangers." Setting a shiny crown on his head, he turned to leave. "I guess I'll have to find someone else to save this universe from destruction."_

_"What?" Rosie yelped, her eye wide. "The universe is gonna be destroyed?"_

_The human kept walking away. "I shouldn't say more. I need to find someone strong and powerful enough to-"  
_

_"I'm strong!" The pink triangle flexed her arms as hard as she could - the nearest tree bent its branches at sharp angles to match Rosie's pose. She gasped and flew backwards, sending a mini-shockwave out that knocked over all the trees within a ten-meter radius. "Not again," she said, cringing and hugging herself. "I still can't control my powers yet."  
_

_"Impressive," the human breathed, staring at her with wide eyes. "How did you do that?"_

_The pink triangle winced and turned away. "I've been doing stuff like that for a long time. Mommy says my powers came very early and that I have to be careful."_

_Not even a second later, he told the young one, "You're just what I've been looking for!"_

_She looked up at him through her lashes. "I am?"_

_"Of course!" Straightening the crown on his head, he plastered the largest smile he could muster on his face. "You can be the one to save this world from destruction."_

_"Rosie!"_

_"I gotta go," she said, backing up again._

_"That's alright, little one. Just meet me at that statue-" he pointed from behind the tree to the statue of the unfinished pyramid in the center of the square, "-tonight at midnight."_

_"Okay." If Rosie could smile, she would be beaming right now as she waved goodbye and flew out to join her fuchsia-colored mom._

_The king narrowed his brown eyes, curling his fingers around the trunk of the tree. "Finally," he muttered under his breath. "The Triad prophecy will end tonight."_

Dipper and Mabel both gasp as they wake up. It takes them a moment for them to realize they're in their bedroom, a minute later for their heart rate to return to normal. "That was the freakiest dream we've ever had," Mabel says, clutching her comforter tight.

"Yeah," her brother agrees. Rubbing his eyes, he says, "These dreams are getting freakier and freakier. First, the one with the labyrinth, then the one with that creepy guy with the gun-"

"The one with Bill crying," Mabel adds, "and the one with us running from a library with a book on triangles or something."

A beat passes before Dipper speaks up, "I've been thinking about that page with the triangles." He rolls onto his side to look at his twin across the way. "Do you think it's possible for there to be other creatures just like Bill?"

Rolling her head to the side, she says, "I guess it's possible. I mean, there's more than one gnome or zombie or other creature in the journals. Plus, we just had that dream of that small, pink, one-eyed triangle."

"Yeah." Dipper rolls back onto his back, staring up at the molding ceiling. Exhaling through his nose, he muses, "I just can't help but feel like there's something about these dreams that's important."

"What do you mean?" Mabel asks, also staring at the ceiling.

"I dunno. It just feels like there's something we're supposed to do, but I can't quite get it."

THUD!

"Huh?" The twins peek over the side of their beds to see Journal #3 on the ground, opened to the Crossroads page. They freeze as words appear on the page, as if an invisible hand were writing them now.

Clicking on the light on the night stand, they slip out of bed and kneel on the floor, reading the words aloud: "Once upon a time, there was a Kingdom in between dimensions, where there was no illness, no famine, no disaster. It was forbidden for anyone to cross a portal without permission from the King and Queen. The Prince and the Princess loved nothing more than to explore the wondrous world around them - but their curiosity drew them to the many portals around their Kingdom, as even they were forbidden to cross the portals. No portal ever so greatly tempted the royal twins more than the South Gate Portal: the most dangerous portal of all. For beyond the portal lay a world prophesized to change the Kingdom forever.

"One day, after reading a book from the library, the Prince and Princess decided to cross the South Gate Portal. They met a handful of people on the other side - one of whom would stop at nothing to obtain the knowledge and power from the Kingdom for himself. A pyraman rushed through the portal before the human could attack the twins, leading them back home and telling them to take refuge in a labyrinth. In a blind rage, the human entered the Kingdom and attacked the pyraman before pursuing the twins in the labyrinth.

"Cornered in a dead end, the children turned to face the human, but when they refused to tell him any secrets, he shot them. The pyraman showed up and eliminated the human before weeping before the children. There was nothing he could do to save their fading lives, but he left an enchantment on them so that they would come back one day and reclaim their throne."

When the last of the writing appeared, Dipper and Mabel meet each other's gazes, both astounded by this latest clue. The dreams, the visions, Bill crying, the page of one-eyed triangles...it was all starting to add up.

* * *

Bill and the author tumble out of the portal, rolling on the ground and getting tangled up. "Ow, everything hurts," the six-fingered author groans.

After shaking free of the human, Bill rises and straightens out his bow tie - his hands freeze when he sees the girl standing a ways away from him. "You again?" he says.

"Yes, it's me," she says, smoothing out her pink dress before clasping her black-gloved hands behind her back. Her bangs still hang in front of one of her eyes. "I didn't know you had a visitor." She nods towards the human.

"We were just finishing," the author says, standing up and brushing off his long black coat. He glances behind him. "Um, where are we?"

"You're...uh..." None of the pyramans told her what to say if anyone asks that. Then again, they didn't expect anybody to come to this broken, barren wasteland.

Bill almost makes a snarky comment - but he regards the girl with a curious look when she winces and bites her lip. The way she hunches her shoulders and hugs her arm, the way her uncovered, bright emerald green eye trails the ground... Does he know this girl somehow? "What's your name?" he asks her, tapping his face where his chin should be.

She stares at him with wide eyes, mouth hanging open like a fish. "I, uh-"

"Excuse me, miss," the author interrupts, stepping forward, "but could you tell us where we are?"

"It's best that you don't know, Stanford Pines." She shuffles backwards when the two stare at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

The six-fingered man blinks. "How...How do you know my name?"

She ducks her head and tucks a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear in response.

"Great," Bill says, crossing his arms. "Now that you know who we are, it's your turn to tell us who you are."

"I would really prefer not to."

"Why not?" Stanford the author snaps, stuffing the pages of notes back inside his coat pocket.

Her green eyes flicker to Bill before inspecting something on the ground. "I summoned you, Bill Cipher," she says, "because I have something to discuss with you. Except I was hoping it would be just the two of us." She glances at the human.

He narrows his eyes. "What exactly is going on here?"

Bill looks at the pink bow in her hair, the way her bangs cover one green eye, the slouch of her shoulders that suggests meekness... "Are you sure we haven't met before?" he asks, squinting at her.

"We have," she answers vaguely. "At least once."

"Bill, you know this girl?" Stanford turns to the yellow triangle.

Staring into space, Bill's body flashes rapidly with images of humans, none of which match the brown-haired girl in front of them. _I don't know who the heck this is_, he thinks. Before his body can fade back to yellow, he remembers that the girl said she wasn't human. Turning away from the two, he thinks harder, the images on his body whizzing by. She doesn't resemble any elves, or vampires, or gnomes, or hobbits, or fawns, or -

His eye widens when an image of a little pink triangle with a bright emerald green eye appears on his body. Unlike the other pyramans, she wore a bow in place of a hat. As his body fades to yellow, he slowly turns around, regarding the human-looking girl before him in a new light. "Rosie?" he says, floating an inch closer.

The girl tenses for a moment, then hugs herself as she glances away, biting her lip. "Rosie Code, it is you!" She stiffens when he throws his arms around her in a tight embrace. "I thought you died! The apocalypse came, and I couldn't find anyone!" His body begins shaking so hard, he can't talk anymore. Tears drop onto her black cardigan, and she feels tears welling up in her own eyes as she returns the hug. "I missed you so much," he whispers.

Sniff. "I missed you, too, big brother."

The last thing Ford thinks is that he really wishes he had some paper and pens to jot all this down before he faints.


	19. Ofelia

Dipper and Mabel glance at each other. Are they having another shared dream? Since they're twins, they sometimes share dreams - lately, the shared dreams have been of the strange labyrinth. Tonight, though, they seem to be in the middle of a black-and-white forest.

"Where are we?" Mabel asks, looking at the bleak scenery.

"I have no idea." Dipper scratches his head under his hat. "But...do you get the feeling that this is familiar somehow?"

The twins take another look at the tall trees, the twisting branches. It looks like something out of a Tim Burton movie...yet both kids feel drawn to the place, almost comforted by the lack of color and the sharp, angular shapes of the trees. "What is this place?" Mabel asks.

A mysterious, accented voice says out of nowhere, "Probably a place in the Kingdom."

The twins glance around, but they don't see anyone around them. "Who's there?" Dipper says.

The kids gasp and jump when someone behind them says, "I'm a friend." They turn around and see a girl with chin-length brown hair, brown eyes, and wearing a magnificent red-and-gold dress. "I wanted to help Rosie find out what has been going on with the magic."

"You know Rosie?" Dipper says.

"Who are you?" Mabel asks.

The girl places a hand on her chest. "My name is Princess Moanna, but I go by Ofelia."

"Princess?" Mabel's face lights up, and she curtsies dramatically. "Your Highness."

"Please don't curtsy to me," Ofelia says, hugging herself and glancing away. "It feels weird when other royals do it."

Both twins stare at her. "What?"

Ofelia focuses her gaze on them. "Hasn't anyone told you yet? You two are the reincarnated heirs of the Kingdom, with a capital K."

"That's impossible!" Dipper says.

Ofelia shakes her head. "It is very possible. Every realm knows of the prophecy that you would return to the Kingdom. Even Rosie knows about it."

Hearing that triangle's name mentioned again makes the twins exchange glances. They already have to worry about Bill, should they stay away from this triangle, too?

"If you're worried about Rosie," the princess says, "you shouldn't. Rosie was the one who helped me complete three tasks so I might return to my own kingdom. But I know she is busy trying to solve the mystery of the fading magic, so I volunteered to be the ones to guide you through your three tasks." She flashes a bright, kind smile.

"What did you have to do?" Mabel asks. She then gasps, and her eyes glimmer in the sparse light, her hands on her cheeks. "Did you have to ride a unicorn? Will we get to do that, too?"

Ofelia's eyes gaze off to the side as she considers her answer before replying, "I don't think you have to do the same things I did...but I know that you will need a book on the Crossroads."

"You mean the Crossroads page in the journal?" As soon as he says that, Dipper wishes he could take it back. He doesn't know if he can trust this princess girl. The rest of her words register in his head. "Wait, fading magic?"

"Yes. The magic is fading from all of the realms, including yours. Rosie has been trying to find out why, but all we can assume is that the answer lies in the Kingdom, your home."

"That's silly," Mabel says with a nervous giggle, waving the idea away with her hands. "Trust me, I'd love to be a princess and wear all the sparkly gowns, but Dipper and I aren't from some kingdom with portals."

Ofelia stares at them for a moment before asking, "Do you already know?"

Dipper glares at his sister, whose smile grows in embarrassment and apology. He sigh, rubs his eyes with his finger and thumb. "We've been having these dreams ever since we can remember about a dark labyrinth, and now the dreams are showing us a palace and portals."

"Those aren't dreams. They are memories."

"What?" Dipper says, his eyes widening.

At the same time, Mabel cries, "It can't be true!"

"_How could you?_"

All three of them stare at each other. "What was that?" Dipper asks, narrowing his eyes.

Ofelia holds up her hands in defense, her brown eyes wide. "All I did was cast a spell to slip into your dreams. I can't do anything else."

"_You monster! You killed them!_"

"Hey," Mabel says, shivering, "that voice sounds very familiar."

"It must be coming from you," the princess says, gesturing to the twins.

"Us?" They stare at each other. "But how?"

She shrugs. "What I remember Rosie telling me is that she can instigate dream messages, but sometimes the dreamers' subconscious leaks into the message. Something is influencing this dream, either a thought or a memory."

"_I will make sure no one like you ever comes into the Kingdom again!_"

A man cries out, and the three turn their heads to see a dark-haired human stumble to the ground. He crawls to his feet, ignoring the rips and tears in his black suit, forgetting about the cut on his cheek. Still on the ground, he glances up in horror. "_No, wait! Don't!_"

A bright red Bill flies up to him, yellow fire blazing in his hands. "_You took them from me! You killed them!_" The fire blazes higher. "_Do you have any idea what I'm like - __**when I'm mad?**_"

Before they can watch any more, Ofelia throws her arms around the twins, turning them away from the sight and hugging them to her. The sound of a fireball being thrown is the last thing they hear before buzzing silence. After a minute, they deem it safe to peek over their shoulders - Bill and the man are gone. "What kind of memory is that?" she demands the twins.

"That's the guy," Dipper says, trembling slightly.

His sister grips his arm and adds, "He's the one that tries to kill us."

Ofelia glances at the new trees before telling them, "Well, that had to be a memory of some sort. Maybe it's not one you remember having or-" Her eyes grow big. "Oh my gosh, this is one of your royal powers, isn't it?"

"Our what?"

"Your powers." When the kids just give her blank looks, she explains, "Rosie told me that all royals from the different realms have certain powers. You two are the reincarnated Prince and Princess of the main Kingdom who died a long time ago. These aren't memories of your own, but of the Kingdom. It's easy for royals like you to access the events either taking place or involving the Kingdom in some way, shape, or form." She gestures to the empty space, grinning. "You're seeing something from the past!"

"That's crazy," Mabel says with a snort. "We can't do anything like that."

"Maybe not before, but your powers are coming back."

"Okay, that's enough," Dipper says. "You need to leave us alone."

Ofelia bows her head. "Very well, but I'll have someone come check up on you. If you are ever to return home, you will need to accomplish certain tasks, and they can help you fulfill them to the best of your ability." She beams.

"What if we don't do these tasks?" Dipper says, setting his hands on his hips.

"Then the Kingdom will die, along with every other realm in the universe."

The three of them start fading out of sight. "You must be waking up," Ofelia says, hands behind her disappearing back. "I wish you both luck!"

Her last words echo as the dreamscape becomes a blur of gray around them. They both shoot up, eyes wide open, gasping for breath, frantically staring around their attic bedroom until they are absolutely sure this is the Mystery Shack and not a dream. Pale moonlight illuminates their room, the mess of clothes strewn about the floor, Waddles curled up on his side as he emits soft snorts, the journal on Dipper's bed.

Mabel still has her sheets bunched up in her fists as she watches her brother snatch the book, gasps for breath as he thumbs through the pages looking for -

"Mabel, look," he whispers, turning the page towards her and tapping it with his pointer finger. It's the Crossroads page. There's already something written on it. They both look closer and Dipper clicks on his UV light.

They flinch violently. Revealed by the light is an image of a key inside a skull. When Dipper clicks off the light and holds the pages up to the slivers of moonlight, they see a map. Turning the light on again, the key and skull appear at the end of a pathway. Glowing instructions appear above the picture: "Task One: Find the Presidential Key."

Dipper and Mabel exchange glances as they recall meeting President Quentin Trembley. He had given Dipper a key that supposedly unlocked anything in the world. The twins had been busy helping Stan get out of the stocks and clean tomato guts off of him that they didn't realize they left the key back in town until they were already home - but when they returned the next day, the key was gone.

So now they have to find it again? That seems easy enough.

But why is there an instruction to "Beware the Blind Eye"?


	20. Confession

Stanford Pines feels something hot near his face. He groans, his head groggy and his eyelids heavy. He rolls onto his side, tucks his hands under his head. "Five more minutes, Mom," he mumbles.

"I'm not your mom," Rosie says.

His eyes shoot open, and he pushes himself up in a sitting position. Rosie moves her hands around as she creates a softly pulsing blue fire in the center of the group.

"All this time," Bill says, elbows on his knees and appearing to rest his "chin" in his hands, "you were alive, and I didn't know it."

Rosie's uncovered green eye gazes wistfully at the fire she is making to keep them warm. "I didn't want anyone to know," she said, setting the fire on the gathered twigs and small branches.

"But why?" Bill doesn't sound accusatory - but he does sound hurt. "I thought I was a failure for not keeping you safe. I promised your mom that-"

"Her mom?" Stanford repeats, his face contorting into a wondering frown. "I thought she was your sister."

"I consider myself his sister." Rosie tucks her knees to her chest, hugging them tight. She stares into the crackling blue flames. "My dad died when I was a baby, and my mom had a hard time balancing two jobs and raising a kid. Bill and his parents were good friends of my parents', so they took care of me most of the time." A small, sad smile plays on her lips. "Bill became my big brother. He taught me how to play and how to create basic fire." She blinks rapidly, her eye starting to glisten. "All I wanted was to make my family proud...but I couldn't even do that." Her voice cracks, and she buries her face in her skirt as she cries.

"Rosie." Bill slides over to the girl, wraps his arms around her and hugs her close. His whole body droops, even his top hat. "What made you think you couldn't make us proud? Before the apocalypse, your mom said your powers were growing. We were so excited for you."

She sniffs and sobs into his bow tie, "But that's the problem. I couldn't control my powers. I couldn't. And now we're homeless because of me!" She tucks herself into him, letting her pink-streaked brown hair fall into her face.

Stanford itches to jot this all down - he hesitates when his fingers are inches away from his coat, glancing once more at the triangle and the human. Curling his fingers into a fist, he sighs and lets his hand drop. The gears crank in his mind, however, and curiosity drives him to ask, "Bill, why did you think you were a failure?"

He looks up. "I promised I would make sure nothing bad happened to her, but when the apocalypse happened, I saw her being sucked up into a whirlwind of fire and air, and..."

"You thought I died," Rosie answers, wiping her eyes and sniffling some more. "I didn't, but I was one of the lucky few who ended up here afterwards."

Ford observes the bleak, desolate, charcoal land around them. "Where are we?"

"The remains of our world." She stares at the ground. "My guess is since I was still too young and inexperienced, the spell I cast wasn't strong enough to completely obliterate our world."

"What spell?" Ford and Bill say at the same time.

She winces. "He said he needed someone to save the universe from destruction. He said I was the only one who could help." She squeezes her eyes shut, but fresh tears escape. "He said that if I could pull off the spell, I would m-make you p-proud, that I-I could be just li-ike you."

"Who told you that?" Bill demands.

Sniff. "He was human, with brown hair and brown eyes. I think he wore a crown on his head."

An image of the King appears on Bill's body. "Did he look like this?" he says.

Rosie glances up. "Yeah, that's him. He's the one who told me to do the spell that ended up destroying our home."

**"What?"**

Reflexively, Stanford grabs Rosie and pulls her back as Bill's body turns red. She does not struggle when he leads her behind a tree stump. They crouch down, but Bill floats a little closer, white fire in his hands, his eye black and body pulsating with anger. **"The King made you do that spell?! All because of that stupid prophecy!"**

Ford and Rosie squeeze their eyes tight when Bill sends out a fiery shockwave. A minute later, they open their eyes to see nothing left of the stump. They now crouch in an acre of soot and ash. Straightening, they shake and brush off the ash and dirt off their clothes. Bill is back to yellow, smoke rising from his hands as his body heaves with each deep breath. He still looks angry.

Only then do his words register in Rosie's mind. "Wait, the King made me do the spell because of a prophecy? What prophecy?"

Before Bill can explode again, Ford steps between them and explains, "I found a book of prophecies in the palace library. One of the prophecies described inside was the Triad prophecy. It predicted that a pyraman would team up with a set of twins and bring about the end of the Kingdom and the monarchy. My guess is that the King and Queen of that time wanted to make sure the Triad prophecy would never come true, so-"

"So the King tricked me into doing that spell," Rosie finishes. Brushing her hair out of her face to reveal both her eyes, she stares at first Ford then Bill. "Is this true? Did the King only say he wanted my help so I could destroy our home?" Her green eyes glisten with tears, her lip trembles. "This whole time, I thought I was too weak. I-I thought I messed up, o-or that I-I wasn't good e-enough." She hugs herself tight, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Rosie, don't even say that!" Bill says, coming over to comfort his "sister" once more.

She doesn't return the gesture. "He sa-aid I was wha-at he was looki-ing for, tha-at my powers were stro-ong enough...Why did I listen to him?" she wails.

Ford is tempted to hug the poor girl - but when he steps towards her, Bill flashes him a look as if daring him to come nearer. He stops and pretends to scratch a spot on his head.

Bill knows Six Fingers only wants to help - heck, he even agreed to be a part of the Triad prophecy - but he draws the line when it comes to his family. The day that Ford can comfort his sister will be the day they all become family. Fat chance. He holds Rosie out at arm's length, but she avoids his gaze. "Don't even think about that fleshbag," he tells her. "By the time I'm through with him, he'll be wishing he never even laid eyes on you."

Stanford shudders at the thought.

Rosie sniffs, finally glances up. "B-But what if they cause another apocalypse? What if they stop the Ten Symbols prophecy from happening?"

"We'll make sure another apocalypse doesn't happen," Ford says, adjusting his glasses. "I'll return to Gravity Falls, I'll find my brother, and we'll search for the remaining Symbols."

"Besides," Bill adds, draping an arm around Rosie's shoulders, "between the two of us, we can just blast them into another dimension with our magic."

She smiles feebly at the thought - her eyes widen and her smile fades. "The magic!" she cries out, turning away from Bill. "I completely forgot to warn the royal twins!"

"What are you talking about?" Ford asks, finally giving into the temptation and pulling out paper and a pen.

Rosie wrings her hands. "I was going to warn the twins about the Ten Symbols prophecy, because if they're a part of the prophecy then they are in even greater danger than they already are!"

"What are you talking about?" Bill says, his hands twitching into fists.

Unaware of her brother's ire, she continues, "A long time ago, I became the protector of this little kingdom. One day, the princess escaped and died, but her soul returned to the kingdom in another form many years later. I helped her accomplish three tasks before she could go home." She rubs the back of her hand. "We've been friends ever since, but last week she showed me that the magic was running out in her dimension. No one knows why it's fading, but when I traveled to other worlds it was the same thing: fairies couldn't fly as well as they used to, infinity-sided dice disintegrated into rainbow dust, wizards grew weaker and weaker. Gravity Falls doesn't seem to be as impacted, if at all, by the phenomenon, but if the Ten Symbols prophecy comes true, then the twins will have to rely on magic to stop the apocalypse."

She stares at the men. "If the magic fades completely, they won't be able to stop the apocalypse, and they will be in even more danger than they already are!"

"Then we'd better waste no time," Ford says, scribbling the last of Rosie's words down and stuffing everything back inside his coat pocket.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Bill agrees. He holds his hands out to summon a portal.

"Bill?"

That voice sounds so familiar. He turns around - his eye widens when he sees the two floating triangles in front of him, one green with a top hat, one blue with a bowler hat with a flower. It can't be...

"Bill, is that you?" asks the blue triangle, floating an inch closer.

At first, everyone thinks Bill turned into a statue. But then he zooms forward, surprising the two triangles when he throws his arms around them. "Mom! Dad!" he cries, his eye squeezing shut in pure joy.

The pyramans hug their son. "We thought we lost you," his father (the green one) says.

"How did you find us?" the blue one (his mother) asks.

"Rosie summoned me," he says, backing away enough to see his parents.

They peer around him at the now-bashful girl. "You knew he was alive?" Mr. Cipher says.

"Charles? Amy?" some more voices call out. "Where are you?" A handful of pyramans float into the ashen area, halting when they see Bill. With a cheer, they all surround their long-lost friend, asking him where he's been, what he's been up to, how he got here.

Rosie watches the reunion with a sad smile. Ford comes to stand right next to her. "Aren't you going to join them?" he asks.

She shakes her head. "Bill should be catching up with his family and friends."

"Doesn't that include you?"

With a shaky breath, she says, "I have a job to do." She turns to the old author. "I can't warn the twins of the apocalypse because they can't see me at all when I enter Gravity Falls. I could enter their dreams as I entered Ofelia's long ago, but it takes a lot of magic and energy to do so, and I don't want to use up any more magic. Besides, I haven't done it in a while." She rubs the back of her neck. "I have to find a way to warn them, even if I have to get someone to go in my place. And it has to be soon."

"I could do it for you," Ford offers. "I need to go back anyways. I could find these twins and pass on the message."

"Could you?"

"Of course."

"Oh, and be on the lookout for government agents. I heard that one showed up thirty years ago, and now his son is in town."

Ford remembers that guy. All he cared about was using the portal for selfish reasons. "I never knew he had a son."

"Mmhmm. Someone named Henry Powers."


	21. Clues

"It's here!" Mabel squeals when a glass bottle appears in the lake. She splashes into the foam to snatch up the newest message from Mermando. Holding it to her heart, she skips through the forest, humming a tune.

"Princess."

Mabel stops humming and skipping and turns to see Ofelia coming out from behind a tree. "You," she says. "W...What are you doing here?"

"I came here to help you," she says, her brown cotton skirt swishing as she strides up to the twelve-year-old. "Also because my parents are missing and you and your brother are the only ones who can help me."

"Us? Why us?" She tugs at her sweater collar, suddenly feeling hot.

Ofelia hugs her green jacket tighter around her. "I'm not sure. Rosie never came back, so I don't know anything about the magic. I was hoping that you and your brother had a dream or another memory."

"Look, I'm sorry." Mabel fiddles with the bottle. "We'd really like to help, but...wait a sec, how did you get here?"

"The labyrinth outside..."

Mabel doesn't hear the rest of the answer. She clutches her head in pain, dropping the bottle in the process. Her ears start to ring as something pounds against her head. Her vision darkens. Her knees feel weak. She doesn't even hear Ofelia screaming for help as she collapses onto the forest floor.

* * *

_"Hey, Bill," Ariel says, "what are you doing?"_

_The yellow triangle glances at the Prince and Princess approaching him. "Oh, I'm just checking the labyrinth, seeing how it's doing," he says, lowering his hands and shaking the golden fire from them. The soft, golden fire blankets the labyrinth for a moment before disappearing, speckling the hedges with gold._

_"What was that for?" Alex asks._

_"That, tiny flesh-puppet, was Verity Fire. It shows the truth about something." The gold specks dazzle like diamonds on the labyrinth. "See?"_

_The Prince and Princess gasp. "Pretty," the boy says._

_"But why do you need to use Verity Fire?" the girl wonders._

_Floating behind the kids, Bill drapes one arm around each of them. "This labyrinth is very magical, as it connects to all other labyrinths in the entire multiverse. It's the source of magic in all dimensions, so someone has to check it every now and then to see how strong the magic is here." He sprouts another arm and gestures to the maze. "If it had lost any magic, it wouldn't sparkle like that, but instead appear burnt or ruined."_

_He leads the kids away from the labyrinth, the third arm gone. "The Verity Fire can also work on creatures, so you can see their true character. Like this." He squints his eye and flicks his hands towards a sneaking manotaur with a pie. The gold fire blankets the creature before shining bright and disappearing in a flash, leaving three gnomes stacked on top of each other, the middle holding the pie. Yelping, they tumble to the ground and scamper away._

_The three of them cackle until their sides hurt. Wiping a tear from his eye, Bill says, "So, what brings you kids out here?"_

_Groaning at the same time, the kids explain together, "We're hiding."_

_Alex scratches at the cuff links on his white coat. "Mom and Dad want us to learn about military strategy. When are we ever gonna need to know that?"_

_Ariel adds, "And they won't teach us anything about magic." She frowns. "I really wanted to learn how to fly like a shooting star."_

_"And I wanted to make myself tall and strong like a pine tree," Alex says._

_"Well," Bill says, tapping his chin, "I may not be able to teach you everything about magic, but I could show you the ropes." Snapping his fingers, the twins' souls separate from their bodies, which fall to the ground. They yelp and back away. "Don't worry, your bodies are just sleeping."_

_Ariel stares at her hands, which now have a white glow outlining them. "What happened?"_

_"It's a power that pyramans have: we can bring anybody at all into the mindscape."_

_The twins stare at each other._

_Chuckling, Bill says, "You're in the realm of the mind. You can do whatever you can imagine here." To prove his point, he summons a can of soda and tosses it to Ariel._

_Cheering, the twins try their hand at summoning things. Ariel manages to conjure up a baby grivern, but all Alex can do is create twigs. He sighs._

_"Hey, Smart-Alex," Bill says, twirling a cane, "why the long face?"_

_"I wanted to summon a pine tree sapling, but..." He dumps the armload of twigs on the ground._

_"Haha, what is it with you and pine trees?"_

_Ariel speaks up for her brother. "They're the most magical kind of tree in all the universes."_

_Alex nods, adding, "They're known to bring healing and mystic powers to those who use its wood. Plus, they symbolize longevity, wisdom, and harmony."_

_Bill slowly stops twirling his cane. "Huh, never knew that."_

_"What do you think we do in the library all day?" Alex smirks._

_"Well, don't worry, little Pine Prince. Someday you'll conjure up a pine tree."_

_"Really?" Alex beams._

_"Will I ever be that magical?" Ariel pipes up._

_"Of course, little Star Princess!" Bill waves his cane away, levitates the twins in a golden glow. "You two hold more power than you realize! Why, just look at that labyrinth!" He floats them over to the start of the maze. "When you were born, this place lit up like a meteor shower, hasn't done it since. You two hold more power than you realize."_

_"Alex! Ariel!" their mother's voice calls out._

_"Uh oh," the twins say._

_Bill claps his hands, and the glow around the kids vanishes as they drift back into their bodies. They sit up, rubbing their heads. "Ugh, we need a better place to hide," Ariel moans._

_"I dunno about you kids," the pyraman mentions, "but I hear rumors that the center of the labyrinth is the greatest source of power and can teleport you anywhere you want without needing the portal gates." He sets his hands on his "hips." "But no one's done it yet."_

_Their mother gets louder and closer._

_Waving goodbye to their friend, Alex and Ariel pick their way back to the Queen. "Some day," Ariel whispers to her brother, "let's find the center of the labyrinth and travel to another world."_

_He shares her conspiratorial grin. "You bet."_

* * *

"Hey, can you hear me?"

Mabel groans. "What happened?" she mumbles, lightly touching your head.

"You fainted in the forest," Ofelia says.

"You sure you're okay, man?"

Mabel's eyes shoot open and stare up at the redhead. "Wendy? What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way to work when this girl said you were in trouble," she says, stuffing her hands in her worn jeans.

Getting to her feet, Mabel assures them, "I'm fine, guys. Really. Just a bad headache."

"Are you sure, Your..." Ofelia's voice trails off when Wendy glances at her curiously. She hugs herself.

"Totally." Mabel dusts off her skirt and sweater. "I guess I was just a bit excited about..." Her eyes widen. "Ohmigosh, that's right! Mermando wrote me!" Spotting the glass bottle on the ground, she snatches it up and sprints for the Mystery Shack.

Wendy and Ofelia watch her run away. "I have no idea what just happened," the redhead says.

"Neither do I," the dark-haired girl says.

* * *

**Bill's POV**

"Bill Cipher, I summon you!"

Aw, come on! I literally just found my parents! I squeeze their hands as a swirling portal appears behind me, trying to suck me in. My body flaps in the wind like a flag as I stare into my parents' eyes. "I'm not leaving you again!" I scream over the howl of the portal.

"We're not losing you either!" Mom shouts. They tighten their grip - all my old friends gather around them and try to help pull me back. Heck, even Rosie and Six Fingers are helping.

But I feel my hands slipping. "No, no, no!" I tighten my grip, but my hands all of a sudden get sweaty, and it's harder and harder to hang on. No, I won't let go! I won't -

"Aaahhhhhhhhhh!" I scream as the force of the portal yanks me out of my parents' hands, and for the second time in my life I lose them. I swear, I'm gonna kill whoever summoned me for making me -

The portal spits me out, and I skid to a stop in the throne room of the palace. The King and Queen sit tall and smug in their thrones. Anger boils in my veins, but I fight it back. No use in turning red now. "What do you want?" I can't help but snap.

"We want to know why you didn't appear this morning," the King says, glaring down his nose.

"Well, forgive me if I was summoned. You know I can't break a summon!"

"We know," the Queen says.

My fingers twitch, but I resist the urge to punch the Queen's face. "So, I take it you want me to do something?"

"We want our children, Cipher," the King says, his fingers curling around the arms of his throne. "Time is running out - and we think that you are keeping something from us."

I hesitate for a moment before leaning backward in the air, hands behind my head, crossing one leg over the other. "Ha, if I were keeping something from you guys, I wouldn't last that long."

"True, we would kill you for treachery in that case," the King agrees, his eyes cold. "However, you haven't been telling us what has been happening in Gravity Falls, and-"

"You wanna know what's going on there?" I straighten, hovering in the air as I tick off points on my fingers. "There's some people who go around erasing people's memories or trying to prove that the supernatural doesn't exist, some teen likes graffiti-ing giant muffins everywhere in town, and gnomes are stealing pies. No one knows anything about the portal or the Kingdom."

For a minute, I have a staring contest with the stiffs, but they blink and glance away. Ha! I win! I cross my arms, wishing I could smirk at them.

"Very well, Cipher," the King says, adjusting his crown. He clears his throat. "But we would like you to go to Gravity Falls and keep an eye out for us."

"For what?"

The Queen speaks up, "We sent an anurodea to hunt for our children. If he finds them, he will bring them back here. If not, he will stay there forever."

What?! Don't they know that anurodeas eat humans? True, they haven't eaten humans in a long time, since the only humans around here are the royal family. But still! "How do you know it will want to come back?"

Those pompous jerks exchange evil glances. "Let's just say we promised its weight in gold and jewels," the Queen says.

Judging by the looks on their faces, I'm guessing they would have crushed the creature with gold and jewels when it got back. "You're insane!"

"You're one to talk, _pyraman_," the King spits. "Now, go to Gravity Falls and keep an eye on the anurodea. Make sure it finds our children."

They wave their hands as if shooing a fly. I seethe as I fly out of the throne room, out of the palace. How dare they talk to me like that! How dare they keep me - **again!** \- from my family! Away from their watchful glare, I let myself turn red. Vampires, fairies, manotaurs, and the other creatures around here steer clear from me. Smart guys. They know better than to mess with me. If only the King and Queen were that smart.

Once I'm back in my little shack (which is still charred from earlier), I summon a ball of magic and watch an image of the Pines kids fade into view. Pine Tree figured out McGucket's role in all this, and Shooting Star seems upset over a message in a bottle. I clench my hands into fists. It's obvious that the King and Queen know their kids are in Gravity Falls now, but why are they willing to putting them in harm's way?

**A/: Hope you guys are liking this story as much as I am writing it! ****This chapter has major clues about the past and future (hence, the title).**

**Also, I decided to give you guys a big clue. I'm sorry it's long, but it explains a bit about why the King and Queen are in a hurry to see their kids. If you solve this Vigenere Cipher, DON'T TELL ANYONE! It'll ruin the surprise when that part eventually comes up. The key for this code is the name of a girl from this chapter. The answer will appear in a near-future chapter.**

_**Prophecy of the**** Labyrinth**_

**tyqvey pmecs yizp cfui lnu osye**

**sqpw animes kpi vieohzm'j atlwe**

**irrrp, jmetvz, eyd rtsye**

**ym alnka e qadqpj ow pmd onv**

**asee pmd frumwy uqwlpgmeceu**

**pi metiqp a tziltlzi qerzio**

**bp kvpakcvps yqks ael gcerbycej tsh**

**blb rzt sg vzyrtw woeo ero**

**kpij wrvxpd acwe tf cwp hza tzwvz**

**xz mrvere dqros rvh xabm jzlba gzwvz**

**xsep keceu vs woeoic ffz xsak zilld**

**emeh rvgteeb qlgzk ee tym lpld**

**ipw tywwp lzdid nf tsygvz qltkmvpd**

**jw xsak lmxeeamzn kpij hrl wsakbiceu**

**gilrj eiyt sg, eyd jbmwl kpij lzmh**

**eo wwvne kpi ayiiqln sg xsezz wtdv**

**smygj iro qlmiys imqliemh dtztp haig**

**sq tymmc yvtpzw rlzprjivj**

**ael wz tf aie tym qlgzk werrqkst**

**kpij pcwx eo bqpw tym syej blpy yixp**

**ffz xsezz fptiicll, kpij mlax rimm**

**xsezz fwofl xz lvb xse cifjrzvxs lzdi**

**lnu ovlnk blp rfgews ciweieo ptfv**

**as ehvg qly bmia oe kefszvk dtiqjp**

**tymc vevx ftlc kmahvz my tym hlrb**

**crvnfemygcg glujqrr a jxeck**

**zv xse kes viua, aso yizp tym opy**

**kw gsaeoi ehzvkd ffz ieeivmey**

**scx tf kpij frqp nodm wfmdmv'd eel**

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**dvaxcopqrr act xsak blpy cwzp dvivwy**

**tpmwdimr oyzvk buzbi demmvplp**


	22. First Test

**A/N: Congrats to Rainbow Meow 11 for solving the Prophecy of the Labyrinth code! :)**

While Wendy and Soos explain to the people why they are tied up, Dipper and Mabel slip out of the room. Once they hide behind a wax display, Dipper turns to his sister. "So, did you find it?"

Mabel shrugs. "We were trying to run from the Blind Eye guys, so I couldn't stop to look at it. But it looked like the key." They hear voices, and they press themselves to the ground. Wendy and Soos are leading the group of people around the museum, pretending that they're on a special tour for Miners Appreciation Day. McGucket shouts nonsense as the party heads towards where the kids are hiding. Fortunately, none of them look their way as they pass.

After their friends disappear, Mabel grabs her brother's hand and leads him in the opposite direction, toward where she saw Trembley's key. They round a corner - gasping and skidding to a stop. The huge creature blocking their path has slimy and warty skin, four arms sprout from the large torso, and when it turns to face the kids, its face contorts into a snarl, revealing sharp rows of teeth. The kids huddle close, not expecting such a fat, hideous creature to be in the museum.

Red eyes glaring at them, the creature flexes its fingers before lunging at them, barely missing them as they slip under its arms. "Dipper, what is that thing?" Mabel hisses.

"I'm not sure," he admits, itching to take out the journal and flip through its pages. But they barely dodge the creature's hands again.

"Hold still, would ya?" the creature grumbles in a thick, almost garbled voice. "Yer makin' this more difficul' than i' needs tuh be."

"We need to hide," Dipper says in a quiet voice so only his sister can hear. "There might be a way to defeat him, but I need to look through the journal to be sure."

"But where?" she asks. They both gasp and stumble back as the creature snatches the air between them. Dashing behind him, they run down the hallway and turn the corner, not once stopping until they see a pioneer exhibit. They climb into the covered wagon, taking a moment to catch their breath. They can't hear the creature - but that doesn't mean he might not be here soon.

"Okay," Dipper hisses, pulling out his journal and flipping through the pages. He also takes out his UV light, since he can't remember any of the normal pages having any information about a vicious frog-bug monster. None of the pages reveal anything - until he comes to the Crossroads page.

He and Mabel pour over the new information: "The anurodea might be a dull creature, but if it has a task, it is not so easily swayed from it. It likes shiny things, so they reside near any place with a lot of treasure. It does not part willingly with any of its belongings, and they will kill anyone who tries to take them. It is deathly allergic to salt, so sprinkle some around your items if you don't want an anurodea taking them." A picture of the creature is at the bottom.

"So, to stop it from following us," Mabel says, "we just need salt?"

"I guess so," Dipper says, tucking the light and the book back into his vest.

"But where are we going to find some?"

They gasp when two strong hands yank on the collars of their shirts, dragging them out of the wagon. They come face-to-face with the anurodea, its red eyes regarding them bitterly. "You two bettuh be worth the gold the King and Queen promised," he snarls.

"King and Queen?" the twins echo.

It squints at them. "D'ya know how hard i' was tryin' to find ya?"

"Why were you trying to find us?" Dipper asks.

The anurodea starts walking down the hallway, the twins bouncing up and down with each step it took. "The King and Queen have been lookin' fer ya fer a long time. Been mighty worried about the apocalypse comin' and ya still not home."

"What?" they shout.

"Dipper? Mabel?" they hear Soos and Wendy call out.

The anurodea stops, licking its lips. "'S been so long since I've tasted human."

"Don't even think about it!" Dipper whisper-shouts.

"Why not?" the anurodea says loudly.

Soos and Wendy seem to get nearer.

"No!" the kids cry, grabbing at the creature's arms to pry themselves free.

The anurodea shrieks and drops the kids, who look up to see two of its arms start to fizzle. "You wretched humans!" it screams.

"Dipper? Mabel?" their friends call out. They sound really close.

The twins spin and run down the other way, leading the fuming creature away from their friends. "What happened?" Mabel breathes as they keep running.

"I dunno," her brother says. "We just touched him and..." He grabs his sister's arm and stops, Mabel stopping a second later. "Wait, that's it!"

"What's it?" She has no idea why Dipper's eyes just lit up, or why he is smiling.

"Anurodeas don't like salt, right?" he says as they hear the creature catching up to them. "Our bodies are naturally salty. Our touch is what hurt him!"

"So we keep poking him and he'll die?"

The anurodea growls as it appears at the end of the hallway. "The King and Queen bettuh pay me double fer this," it grumbles, storming up to them.

"Stay back!" Dipper says, throwing his hands forward. Mabel does the same.

The anurodea slows its pace, but does not stop. "What do ya think yer doin', Yer Highness?"

Geez, it's so weird to hear that. "I'm not letting you take us anywhere, no matter who sent you."

It bares its teeth again. "Don't test me, boy," it sneers, crossing its arms.

Mabel does a double-take. She shakes Dipper's shoulder and points at one of the creature's crossed arms. "Dipper, look! It's the key!"

Sure enough, the President's Key is in the creature's slimy hand. Its gaze flickers down to the shiny key, then back up to the twins with a smirk. "Lookin' fer this?" It holds it up and shakes it tauntingly. "Found it in one o' the displays. Thought i' would be a nice part of my collection."

"We need that key," Dipper says. "We...we could make a deal."

"Too late." It tilts its head back and drops the key into its wide mouth, swallowing it in one gulp. It chuckles at the kids' shock. "I already made a deal with the King and Queen. Now, be good little kids and let me take you home." It steps towards them.

Nodding at each other, Dipper and Mabel charge at the anurodea, grabbing two arms each and hanging on tight. It screams in pain and tries to shake them off. Despite the creature melting onto their hands and the smell of mud and dung in the air, the kids don't let go. Once the arms disintegrate into nothing, they slap all over its face, head, and chest. Where their hands meet its skin, holes appear and steam rises from them. The anurodea's screams become more guttural and silent the more it melts away. Eventually, the twins have to look away, hugging each other and squeezing their eyes shut as the last of the creature's cries fades away. They wait in eerie silence for a minute, making sure that the anurodea really is dead, before turning around.

Their stomachs churn at the sight, but there in the center of the goop-y, murky puddle of sludge is the shiny key from President Trembley. Grinning and silently cheering, Dipper steps forward and grabs the key with his thumb and forefinger, lifting it out of the gross stuff. "We got the key!" he says.

"Good," Mabel says. "Now let's get out of here before I vomit all over my new sweater."

* * *

**Bill's POV**

Woohoo! The kids did it! I can't help but dance around the ashy hut.

Why are you giving me that look? Yeah, I dance. So what?

Anyway, the kids go to wash off the key and rejoin their friends. If I didn't have to worry about the fading magic, I would've crossed over and helped them. Trust me, if that frog-buttface had tried to hurt them, I would have gone and kicked his -

RIIIIING!

My body vibrates. Someone's calling me. I tap my bow tie and see my parents. "Are you guys okay?"

"We should be asking you that," Mom says. Behind them I see Rosie, Six Fingers, and all my old friends. "Where are you?"

Biting back a growl, I say, "The King and Queen summoned me."

"Bill," Rosie says, "have you seen the twins yet?"

"They just passed their first test." My body flickers red. "They almost died doing it."

"Son, you have to keep them safe," Dad says. "I'm pretty sure the labyrinth can't take another loss."

"What do you mean?" I ask. Everyone turns to my parents.

Mom explains, "Back in our world, your father and I were the Keepers of our realm's gate. Every universe has some sort of object, or 'gate,' that is the source of its magic, and all gates are tied to the labyrinth in the Kingdom. If anything were to happen to the labyrinth, it affects magic everywhere else. When the Prince and Princess died, it must have done something to the labyrinth."

"But if that's so," Rosie speaks up, "why would it take so long for the magic to fade away?"

"We're not sure," Dad says. "But the King and Queen would probably know. You could ask them."

Before I can turn red, Six Fingers pushes forward. "Uh, that might not be the best idea. Is there possibly another way?"

"Well," Dad starts, tapping his chin, "there might be something written about it." He turns to the crowd. "Does anyone know where to find long-lost knowledge and secrets?"

"The King and Queen are supposed to know everything about magic and the different dimensions, though," someone pipes up.

Ugh, don't remind me. That's the whole reason I went crazy a few weeks ago using Pine Tree as a puppet, to get them to reveal -

"Not everything," Rosie mumbles. She shrinks under the weight of dozens of eyes.

"Do you have an idea?" Mom asks.

Tucking her hair behind her ear and staring at her boots, Rosie mumbles something.

"Speak up, dear."

Clearing her throat, she meets my parents' eyes and says, "When I watched over Ofelia and helped her reclaim her throne, she had a book that showed ancient magic. I used that to become human." She inhales deeply. "But that book is not the only thing to draw from ancient power. Anything that has a connection to the Crossroads will show anything and everything there is to know."

Seriously? Crossroads? As in, Journal #3? I slouch and deadpan, "Of course it would."

"Son, do you know something about this Crossroads?" Dad asks.

"I'll get back to you on that." I tap the screen to make it disappear, my bow tie returning. I sigh, sinking into the burnt chair and rubbing my head. Of course it would be in the kids' book! And of course I would need to see them again after the complete mess I left behind! They probably hate me. And with good reason.

Do any of you readers have any idea how I can get these kids on my side again?


	23. Burning Shame

When it is time to go to bed, Dipper and Mabel trudge up the stairs to their room, sitting on the floor between their beds. Dipper grabs the journal off the nightstand and flips to the Crossroads page. The writing has changed again: "The Prince and Princess succeeded with the first task. A great feast is to be prepared to celebrate. But be warned, for things are not what they seem." That's all there is. Nothing else appears after ten minutes of staring at the page.

"Do you think they'll have ice cream at this feast?" Mabel wonders, pulling Waddles into her lap.

"I don't know," her brother replies, re-reading the page. "I just wish it would show us something useful, like why we're the Prince and Princess, or why we have to do these tests."

They gasp when the words rearrange themselves on the pages. A minute later, the letters settle into place. Something new is on the page:

_"The Prophecy of the Labyrinth_

_Thirty years have come and gone_

_Bill awaits the Kingdom's spawn_

_Angry, bitter, and alone_

_He wants a family of his own_

_When his family disappeared_

_He became a creature feared_

_By creatures high and creatures low_

_But not by Royals long ago_

_They wanted just to use his power_

_To manage minds and make folks cower_

_They cared no longer for that realm_

_With ancient magic at the helm_

_All those lives no longer mattered_

_So that dimension they had shattered_

_Years went by, and still they lied_

_To keep the pyraman by their side_

_Kings and Queens remained still wary_

_Of their yellow adversary_

_And so to set the magic straight_

_They plot to kill the ones they hate_

_For their betrayal, they must give_

_Their blood to let the labyrinth live_

_And grant the royals lasting life_

_So they may keep on causing strife_

_They keep Bill Cipher in the dark_

_Unknowingly causing a spark_

_In the two kids, who have the key_

_To change things for eternity_

_But if they fail come summer's end_

_The King and Queen's wrath will descend_

_Destroying all that they love dearly_

_Children dying quite severely_"

Silence rings in the air for quite a while, the twins processing what they just read. "Okay, now I'm even more confused," Mabel says, pressing her forehead to her pig.

"This makes Bill seem like a good guy," Dipper muses, scratching his head, "and the King and Queen like bad guys. But why?"

"Maybe Bill's trying to trick us," Mabel says.

"But why would he have anything to do with the journal?"

His sister shrugs. "Maybe he and the author knew each other? We already read some stuff about him, so..."

"Yeah, but-"

"Kids, shut up and go to sleep!" they hear Grunkle Stan shout from downstairs.

Dipper bookmarks the Crossroads page before setting the journal on the nightstand. He and Mabel slip into their beds and lie staring at the ceiling. "Hey, Mabel?"

"Yeah, Dipper?"

"Let's assume Bill is the good guy here. Why would he want to possess my body and destroy the journal? If he did have anything to do with the Crossroads page, why would he just try to get rid of it?"

"Well, that labyrinth prophecy was pretty scary. Maybe he didn't want anyone to read it?"

"Maybe..." But he's not entirely convinced. "I remember him saying something about me getting too close to figuring out some major answers. That's why he also destroyed the laptop."

Mabel rolls onto her side, cuddling Waddles to her. "Is this about McGucket? Could he have anything to do with Bill?"

"I dunno." Dipper drapes an arm over his eyes. "Too many unanswered questions."

"Don't worry, Pine Tree! You'll figure it out!"

The twins shoot up in bed, staring at each other. Before either can say a word, the attic bedroom fades to monochrome, a light flashing by the triangular window. Bill flies into the center of their room. "To be honest, I'm impressed you made it past the first test like that. The anurodea wasn't supposed to be there."

"Did you put it there?" Dipper demands, glaring and pointing at the pyraman. "Were you trying to kill us?"

"Eesh, kid, settle down," Bill says, hands in front of him. "Trust me, I would never make you kids face one of those slimy sleazeballs." He glares into the distance. "Someone else put it there."

Something occurs to Mabel, and she can't help but blurt out, "Hey, Bill, if you were there when me and Dipper died - you know, as royals, or whatever - and you were crying and being all sad, why would you want to hurt Dipper?"

He stares at her. "I never hurt Pine Tree."

"Dude, you turned me into a living sock puppet!" Dipper huffs and crosses his arms.

The gray moonlight must be playing tricks on them, because the kids could have sworn that they saw Bill wince at the accusation. "Yeah, I admit that was a bit overkill," he says, taking out his black cane and leaning on it.

When silence persists for a minute, Mabel presses, "So why would you?"

Bill sighs, his whole body drooping. "Look, I know you kids don't particularly trust me...and honestly, I don't blame you."

Was that some sort of apology?

"Let's just say certain things have happened lately that make me want to help you two more."

"What kind of things?" Dipper asks, his eyes narrowing.

The triangle guy inspects his non-existent nails. "Just some stuff that's none of your business, Pine Tree."

But Dipper won't listen. "How do we know we can even trust you? What kind of things happened?"

An idea pops into Mabel's head. "Hey, what about that Verity Fire?"

The triangle and the boy stare at her. "What's Verity Fire?" her brother asks.

At the same time, Bill breathes, "How do you know about that?"

Sheepishly, she tells them about the vision she had earlier that day, after Ofelia showed up. "So maybe if you used your magic or something, you could prove that you're telling the truth?" Feeling uncomfortable under their gaze, she goes to snuggle Waddles to her - but realizes that he is black-and-white, so he is not in the mindscape with her. She frowns and slumps.

A moment ticks by before Bill says slowly, "Sure thing, Shooting Star." He snaps his fingers to make soft, golden fire appear in his hand. With a wave, it grows until it covers him and fades away, leaving a diamond sheen on him. "Ask away."

The twins exchange glances, wondering what they should ask. It reminds them of asking the Mailbox in the forest - but they don't know what would happen if they said or did something to offend Bill. Would he stop talking? Would he do something bad to them?

"Tick, tock, kids. I haven't got all night."

Taking a deep breath, Dipper looks straight at Bill and asks, "If you didn't send the anurodea, then who did?"

"The King and Queen."

All three of them look taken aback. Bill slaps a hand over where his mouth should be, but he keeps talking, "I don't know why they would do that, they've been so worried that you wouldn't make it home. They've been bugging me to bring you back for thirty years."

"What if we don't want to go back?" Mabel asks, hugging herself.

"I don't make the rules, Shooting Star. As much as I hate it, I have to do whatever the King and Queen tell me to do. Those lying, backstabbing morons!" He glares at the ground.

"The King and Queen can't be that bad, can they?" Dipper says.

Bill drops his cane and seems to clutch at the glowing bricks making up his body. His eye squeezes shut, and his body trembles. He grunts as if trying to resist something, and the diamond sheen grows brighter and brighter. When the shine threatens to blind the twins, Bill finally cracks under the pressure and the light returns to normal. "They destroyed my home, they made Rosie cast the spell that created the apocalypse in my universe, and now there's only charred remains of it! They took me away from my parents! They killed my friends! They used me!"

He grabs his head and falls to his knees, forced to continue. "For one trillion years, I've been stuck serving the royal family, doing everything they told me to, since it was _only fair_ I work for them since they 'rescued me' from the apocalypse! They said no one else made it! They said I would be alone otherwise! And I **believed** them! Generations passed, and all they cared about was themselves! They said that they would help me, that they would make things right - but they never did!"

His voice cracks and his body continues to shake. "Sometimes they would spy on other realms through me - _**all because pyramans can act as screens to view other people!"**_ The twins are surprised to see and hear Bill Cipher weeping in front of them. "I was their puppet, a living crystal ball to them, and there was **nothing** I could do against it! They all just used me for their own stupid, selfish reasons!" The diamond sheen starts to brighten, but with another racking sob, it dims back to normal. "I refused to live in the palace ever since I got to that Kingdom, so I chose that puny shack! I know it's a hovel, but it's all I got!"

A puddle of tears forms under Bill. "A-And then you two ca-ame along, and you...you treated me-e like a real pers-son. You were curious and kind. You-ou were the family I wa-anted for so lo-ong. I would've done anything..." he says under his breath. He takes a shudder-y breath. "I-I never-er wanted to-o be like the-em, but I was so-o mad that I-I wanted to take o-over the Ki-ingdom! I thou-ought I could u-use you to...to..."

Bill glances up at the twins, his eye red and puffy. He practically screams, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that you died! It's my fault, I should've been at the portal gate to keep you from crossing, but I...I..." He buries his face in his hands. "I was a monster! I was like your parents! I wa-asn't there, not until i-it was too la-ate."

Flashbacks from their dreams since the beginning of summer swarm into their minds. Now it made sense why Bill was crying in the labyrinth and said that he didn't want to lose them, too. Before they can stop themselves, the twins slide out of bed and make their way to the emotional pyraman. They kneel down and envelop the pathetic triangle in an awkward hug. Bill throws his arms around them and nearly crushes them to him, sobbing onto their hair. They stay huddled on the floor like that for who knows how long.

Eventually, Bill sniffs and his tears dry up. He backs away from the kids enough to look at them, his eye still red-rimmed. "I don't expect you to forgive me, but please. Let me help you. You have to survive the summer! You have to!"

"Like in the prophecy?" Dipper blurts out. He winces and his sister shoots him a glance.

"What prophecy?"

The twins stare at him. "The prophecy on the Crossroads page of the journal? You put that there, right?"

"Kid, anything relating to the Crossroads is ancient magic. I might be one trillion, four million, eight hundred-and-forty-two years old, but even I don't know all the secrets of the universe. Your parents are supposed to know a lot, though, but Rosie said that only items with ancient magic would know everything."

As much as they don't want to accept it, Dipper and Mabel know that Bill isn't tricking them: the diamond sheen is still on him.

Bill grabs Dipper's shoulders, gives them a gentle but firm shake. "Pine Tree, what prophecy?"

"The Prophecy of the Labyrinth," Mabel says. "It said something about if we fail by the end of summer, kids will die quite severely or something."

The pyraman stares at her in horror. "That can't be true," he says. "Tell me that's not true!"

"Why? What does it mean?" Dipper asks.

Bill squeezes his eye shut again as he fights the power of the spell over him.

"You don't have to answer it if you don't want to," Mabel says, frowning at the triangle's pain.

A breath of relief escapes from Bill, whose whole body sags as he regards them with a tired glance. "Thanks, Shooting Star," he mumbles. The diamond sheen starts to fade away. He stares at his hand. "The spell's about done. I think that's enough chitchat for tonight." He ushers the kids back into their beds.

"Hey, Bill," Dipper says after he settles under the covers. "Do you know anything about the second test?"

Hesitating, he tells the boy, "We can talk more about it another night." The sheen is completely gone now. "Remember: reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold! G'night!"

In a blink, the color returns. They're back in the attic. A beat passes before Mabel says, "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna have nightmares tonight."

Dipper yawns. "You said it."

They lay in bed for a while, minds abuzz with this new information. Suddenly, they hear something. It's faint and gentle, like it's in the distance. Whatever it is, it calms their minds and relaxes their nerves. A couple minutes later, their eyes flicker shut. Even after they are sound asleep, Bill keeps singing his lullaby. He watches over the twins all night, never once leaving their side.

**A/N: The lullaby is taken from the original story's title, _The Demon's Lullaby._ Plus, it's too much fun messing with the triangle and making him a huge softy (although he'll probably hunt me down for that lol).**

**I'm sorry if Bill seems too OOC, but I'm starting to diverge now from the show in terms of character arcs. I'll still use events from the show, but people will grow and change differently here than in the original series, particularly after the portal opens. This is most true for Bill, Stan, and Ford, especially in the final episodes. I hope you like this story so far, though. :)**


	24. Broken Family

**Stan's POV**

Geez, I hope the kids are okay. They were up late last night talking about who knows what. Heck, they look like they're gonna fall face first into their cereal at any minute now. Hope they weren't messing around with any of the supernatural. They get involved in any of the weirdness, and there goes the town. Those knuckleheads need to stay out of danger and not stay up past their curfew.

...I guess I shouldn't call them out on it. I've been staying up late myself trying to get that darn portal up and running. I just need more energy, more time! If my stupid brother hadn't jumped through the portal, he would know what to do. Heck, if McGucket hadn't gone crazy, he would know what to do! And I am _not _going to call any more government agents to help! Ugh, If only I could just speed up the process...

"GRUNKLE STAN!"

I snort and catch myself before I plop face-first into my cereal. "Huh, what?"

The kids burst out laughing. Mabel says, "You almost fell into your food." She gasps, eyes wide. "I should have a spa day and make a food mask!"

"Just stay away from my meat," I grumble, taking a swig of orange juice.

Dipper holds his spoon up. "Well, I'm going to take a walk in the woods and see what else I can find."

I glare. "Don't go too far. I'm gonna need your help all day. Both of you."

They frown and start protesting.

"No buts, except yours upstairs to get dressed!"

"Yes, Grunkle Stan," they groan at the same time, sliding out of their seats and trudging out of the room.

Sighing, I slouch back in my seat. Maybe I'm being too hard on them. They did survive a buttload of zombies. Of course, Dipper was the one who caused the problem in the first place! I drag my hands down my face with a growl. Shermy was always better with the kids than I was. God knows how much I had to beg their parents to let me watch them for the summer, the promises I made to Shermy if he let me care for them just one time.

How pathetic is it that I have to bargain to see my own family?

I let my arms drop to my sides and stare up at the ceiling. Sometimes I wonder if the kids like me or not. Sure, we have fun, like going fishing or playing mini-golf...but do they like me? Or do they just like the things I have or can take them to?

Bah! I stand up and clear the table. I'm not going to let this get to my head! I've got a stupid portal to fix and a brother to get back! Maybe once Poindexter gets back, he'll use his smarts to figure out a way to make things right.

Or maybe I'll be the hero, and everyone will like me.

That thought makes me straighten a little as I set the last plate in the sink. I smile at the thought of getting that portal fixed, of my brother coming through saying, "Wow, Stan! I didn't know you could fix the portal on your own! Thanks for saving me!"

I puff out my chest as I imagine the kids watching the whole thing. "Grunkle Stan!" they'll say. "You are so awesome! We love you, Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Stan!"

"Grunkle Stan!"

Jerking out of my thoughts, I start and glance about. "Hmm, what?"

The kids are in the doorway, looking at me. "Are you sure you're okay?" Dipper says.

"Do you need to lie down?" Mabel asks.

Great, they caught me standing like a dolt! "No, no, I'm fine." I smooth out my undershirt, realizing I'm not even dressed yet. "Just go set up the gift shop for today." They turn to leave - something shiny glints in Dipper's back pocket.

I do a double-take. No way! The kid actually has a golden key? I wonder if he'll let me bury it. The apocalypse is comin' soon, after all...

* * *

**Rosie's POV**

It's been a while since we last talked to Bill. I glance back at the different colored triangles huddled together. No matter what plan they come up with, I feel like it wouldn't do any good. Not against the King and Queen anyway. If we all could get to the Kingdom, that would be an entirely different thing. But -

"Psst."

I turn towards a nearly disintegrated tree, where a figure is beckoning me. "Stanford Pines," I hiss, coming over to where he is hiding, "what are you doing?"

Dusting some ash off his shoulder, he steels his gaze. "I'm not going to sit around here and wait for things to happen. I'm going back to Gravity Falls one way or another."

My heart sinks into my stomach. "I don't think that's a good idea." I hug myself.

"Rosie." He lays a hand on my shoulder. "I know it's dangerous, and that I might even be caught, but I made a promise to Bill to find the new Prince and Princess and to convince my brother to help with the Triad Prophecy." He scowls. "Although, I can't say that my brother is completely trustworthy."

I hesitate before asking, "What happened between you and your brother?"

He glares off into the distance. "We used to be inseparable, standing up for each other when we were bullied or feeling alone. But then he couldn't handle the idea that I was smarter than he was, that I was going to go places, and he sabotaged my chance at going to my dream school."

I frown, rub my arms. How could any family be so broken up?

"I refused to see or speak to him. I wouldn't even return his calls on our birthday or on Christmas." Ford clenches his fist. "I knew I was being rash, but I couldn't let anything distract me from my pursuit of knowledge. Eventually, when I got to Gravity Falls, I realized I would need help."

"So, you called your brother?" I ask, perking up with hope.

"No, I called my old buddy from college." He crosses his arms, about to lean on the burnt tree but then catching himself. "Together, we created a portal to discover other worlds, but we weren't sure if we could get it running by ourselves."

"And then you called your brother?"

I shrink back when he glares at me. "Fiddleford wanted to. I did not." He runs his hand through his gray hair. "But when we tried testing it with just the two of us...let's just say it didn't go as planned." His glare softens as he stares off into the distance again. I glance quickly behind me to make sure no one is coming over here, but they're still in their huddle. "I had no choice, so I called Stan to come up to Gravity Falls. He did...but he wasn't the only one to show up. Apparently, our little test caught the attention of some gov-"

The burnt tree decides right then to completely disintegrate, creating a cloud of ash. We both cough and wave the smoky dust away as best we can. Some of it gets in my eyes, stinging them. I can't stop coughing, my lungs are burning, there is so much ash in the air! Just when I think I'm going to suffocate, someone grabs me - I feel a surge of energy, and my heart no longer feels on fire. Once my coughs have died down, I blink rapidly to get rid of the stinging tears before looking up at -

"Are you two okay?" Charles Cipher asks, helping me dust off my black cardigan.

"I hate this place," a dark purple pyraman grumbles as he and a burgundy pyraman assist Ford.

Amy Cipher says, "One of these days, this little spit of charred land will vanish completely."

"But where will we go?" a spring green pyraman asks.

Even though I don't like this place either, I agree: this is one of the few realms in which pyramans exist physically. If we went to any other place, we would be nothing more than ghosts. Unless of course we traveled through a Kingdom portal. No matter who goes through those, they retain their same physical form.

"I will go," Ford announces, one hand in the air. "I can find a new home for you all."

"Are you daft?" Charles says, flying over. "You're wanted by the King and Queen! Who knows what they will do to you if they caught you?"

"I'll make sure they don't." He shows them the gun he stole. No matter what we tell him, I can see that he already made up his mind. After twelve minutes, everyone gives up trying to convince him otherwise and goes back to their huddle spot, preparing to create a portal for Stanford to go through.

Ford inspects his weapon and checks the pockets inside his coat. Hugging myself, I step forward. "Mister Pines? Are you really sure you want to do this?"

He looks up at me. "Rosie, I'm not going to sit here while Bill's off who knows where and the King and Queen are doing who knows what. If I can find a way to activate the Gravity Falls portal from this side, I can sneak back home, take care of business, then come right back and take care of the royals."

"So, you aren't going to help us." My face falls, and my shoulders droop.

"If I come across anything in my journey, I will let you know." He looks down the barrel of the gun. "I doubt I'll get back in one try, so I expect to go through different worlds until I do. Not sure how many, but I'll most probably find one suitable for the pyramans."

"What if things go wrong like last time? With your brother, I mean."

"There's a low probability of that," he says, clicking his gun back together and slinging it across his back. "My brother's not here, and there are no government agents interfering anywhere. I should be able to get back home, take care of business, then come back." He smiles at me.

But my stomach sinks.

"I promise I'll be on the lookout," Stanford says. He gestures around him. "Trust me, no one should ever have to live in a shrinking, ashen wasteland. I will find a new home for you."

"And Bill, too?"

"...Sure. Bill, too."


End file.
